More ships than sense

China tells us to silence Tarriela. That’s how defeat sounds in Mandarin.

People love Tarriela. Coast Guard. One mouth holding the line. Honestly? Might be the only liked man in this government right now. One day without Tarriela and everyone’s already asking, “Do I need a passport to visit Boracay?”

Ironically, he reminds us of Rodrigo Duterte, that very friendly era when Beijing felt oddly at home.

Different vibe now. Funny how that change suddenly “strains ties.” Because they summoned our ambassador, demanded that Tarriela be reined in, and discovered that they can actually go f**k themselves.

Last Christmas, a Chinese warship helped a Filipino fisherman. Very normal. Law of the seas. Congratulations on not being pirates that day.

So Tarriela says thank you. Polite. Civilized.

But one rescue doesn’t erase the record.

And by the way, why were you in our seas in the first place?

And the embassy turns into that guest.

You know the one. Helped once. Won’t shut up about it. Full FB spiral. Tag-everyone loud. Starts narrating their kindness. “Count the biscuits again, I think we deserve more credit.” Corrects people mid-sentence, senators included. Gets offended by Tarriela’s tone. Then offended by facts. Then offended by reality.

Instead of doing embassy things, like, you know, talking, not yelling. If chaos had a start date, it’s the day Jing Quan landed. New Chinese ambassador. Fresh from his US circuit. Promised he’ll “fix” things.

If this is the fix, imagine the damage.

Tarriela posts caricatures of Xi Jinping glaring at allied flags that sail past claims he can’t enforce. If China can’t outtalk him, just imagine the mismatch when it’s the Philippines backed by Australia, Japan, and the United States.

China short-circuits. Apparently friendship is provocative now. You can almost hear the brakes screech.

This is what scares Xi? That’s the red line? Amazing. For a man who projects strength, it turns out the real weak spot is being laughed at. They call sarcasm provocation because laughter kills fear. It’s very hard to look menacing when you look ridiculous.

They go: “Does Tarriela represent official policy?”

Buddy, he represents what’s happening. Tarriela posted what your ships are doing. If that behavior embarrasses you, maybe stop doing embarrassing things. Works everywhere. Even in waters that are not yours.

If he can rattle the Chinese this much, imagine how weak their claim really is. Because if Tarriela were lying, they’d ignore him. You don’t summon ambassadors over liars.

For a country that claims to be a great power, this is some very small thinking: “Rein him. Or else...strain.”

Sure, keep tugging. Strain sounds scary until you remember who’s been stretching the rope.

They say China isn’t like America: the world’s police. Funny. Because they keep telling everyone what to say, where to sail, and when to shut up.

A weak argument with a strong navy is still a weak argument. We’re starting to think that’s why you brought so many ships.

If you can tell us to rein in Tarriela, great. Let’s trade notes. We’ll rein in a spokesman when you rein in your ships. Fair deal. Very reasonable. Everybody goes home. And the West Philippine Sea is ours.