Following a collision between a Chinese Coast Guard ship and a Philippine boat close to a disputed reef, the United States demanded on Sunday that Beijing cease its “dangerous and destabilizing” operations in the South China Sea.
Following the latest altercation in the disputed sea earlier on Sunday, both nations exchanged accusations.
The collision occurred the day after another incident at Scarborough Shoal and occurred during a Philippine resupply mission to a small garrison on Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, a flashpoint for Manila and Beijing.
Chinese ships “employed water cannons and reckless maneuvers, including forcing a collision, causing damage to Philippine vessels undertaking official supply missions to those locations, and jeopardizing the safety of the Filipino crew,” according to a statement from State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on both days.
In addition, he claimed, “the ships at Scarborough Shoal drove away Philippine fishing vessels and used acoustic devices, incapacitating the Filipino crew members.”
“These actions reflect not only reckless disregard for the safety and livelihoods of Filipinos, but also for international law,” Miller stated.
Long-standing maritime tensions between Beijing and Manila have erupted in recent months as a result of several events involving Chinese and Philippine vessels, including two prior collisions.
China has disregarded an international tribunal’s decision that its claims lack legal support and continues to maintain its claims over nearly the whole South China Sea, including waterways and islands close to its neighbors’ borders.
It has constructed artificial islands that it has militarized to support its claims, and it sends boats patrolling the heavily used waterway.
The tribunal’s 2016 ruling, according to Miller, “is final and legally binding on the PRC and the Philippines.”
The US, abbreviated as PRC, “calls upon the PRC to abide by the ruling and desist from its dangerous and destabilizing conduct,” he continued.
A mutual defense treaty between the US and the Philippines “extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft –– including those of its Coast Guard –– anywhere in the South China Sea,” he stated. “The US stands with our Philippine allies in the face of these dangerous and unlawful actions,” he said.
The Philippines claimed that during the incident on Sunday, China “rammed” one of their boats. Nevertheless, the Philippine boat was charged by China’s Coast Guard with “deliberately colliding” with the Chinese vessel after ignoring “multiple stern warnings.”
Under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has worked to strengthen ties with Washington, a longtime friend, and retaliate against Chinese operations in the South China Sea, relations between Manila and Beijing have deteriorated.
