2023-10-23 10:48:07
A Philippine coast guard ship escorting this replenishment mission was “rammed” by a “Chinese maritime militia vessel.”
The United States on Monday renewed a warning that it would defend the Philippines in the event of an armed attack under a 1951 treaty, following Chinese ships blocked and collided with two Philippine ships off a disputed sandbar in the Sea of Southern China.
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Philippine diplomats on Monday summoned an official from the Chinese embassy in Manila for a strong protest following Sunday’s collisions off Second Thomas Shoal. No injuries were reported, but the encounters damaged a Philippine coast guard ship and a wooden-hulled supply boat operated by navy personnel, authorities said.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called an emergency meeting with the defense secretary and other top military and security officials to discuss the latest hostilities in the disputed waters. The Philippines and other China neighbors have resisted Beijing’s sweeping territorial claims over virtually the entire South China Sea, and some, like Manila, have sought US military support as incidents multiply.
This image released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines shows a Chinese militia boat, topside and Philippine coast guard boat BRP Cabra as they approach Second Thomas Shoal, locally called Ayungin Shoal, in the disputed South China Sea on Sunday, October 22. 2023. (Armed Forces of the Philippines via AP)
After the meeting, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro criticized China in a press conference for resorting to “brute force” that he said endangered Filipino crew members and for distorting the facts to hide your aggression.
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“The Philippine government views China’s latest aggression as a flagrant violation of international law,” Teodoro said. “China has no legal right or authority to conduct law enforcement operations in our territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.”
In this image released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, a Philippine supply ship, top left, sails near a Chinese coast guard ship, top right, and a Chinese militia ship off Second Thomas Shoal , locally called Ayungin Shoal, in the disputed South. China Sea on Sunday, October 22, 2023. (Armed Forces of the Philippines via AP)
Marcos ordered an investigation into the offshore collisions, Teodoro said, but declined to reveal what action the Philippine government would take.
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“We are taking these incidents seriously at the highest levels of government,” he said, adding that the government called a press conference to provide accurate data. “The Chinese government is deliberately hiding the truth,” the defense chief said.
The Philippines also plans to raise the alarm regarding dangerous maneuvers by Chinese ships in talks between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on a proposed non-aggression pact a “code of conduct” to avoid a major armed conflict in the Sea of Asia. Southern China. Beijing will host the three-day talks starting Monday, two Philippine officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity due to a lack of authority to publicly discuss details of the talks.
Teodoro said it was “very ironic” that China was hosting talks aimed at avoiding major conflicts at sea when they had just committed “a blatant disregard for international law.”
Territorial conflicts involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have long been seen as a flashpoint on a delicate fault line in the US-China rivalry.
This image from a video released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines shows a Chinese coast guard ship with bow number 5203 following colliding with a Philippine supply ship as they approached Second Thomas Shoal. (Armed Forces of the Philippines via AP)
Some five Chinese coast guard ships, eight accompanying ships and two navy ships formed a blockade on Sunday to prevent two Philippine coast guard ships and two ships from delivering food and other supplies to Philippine forces stationed in Second Thomas. Shoal aboard an abandoned navy ship, Philippines. said Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela.
During the clash, one of the Philippine coast guard ships and a supply ship were hit separately by a Chinese coast guard ship and a ship. Only one of the two Philippine ships managed to deliver supplies to the Philippine forces, Tarriela said.
The top Chinese diplomat who was summoned by Philippine foreign officials repeated China’s claim that the Philippine vessels invaded Chinese territory.
“China once once more urges the Philippines to take China’s serious concerns seriously, keep its promise, stop provocations at sea, stop dangerous moves, stop groundlessly attacking and smearing China, and tow the war illegally ‘aground’ as soon as possible,” Zhou Zhiyong said, according to the Chinese embassy in Manila.
He was referring to the Sierra Madre, which serves as Manila’s territorial outpost on the sandbar following being deliberately run aground in 1999.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Ambassador Teresita Daza, second from left, answers questions regarding an incident involving Chinese ships and Philippine military and coast guard ships during a press conference in Quezon City, Philippines, Monday, Oct. 23 2023. (AP Photo/Aarón Favila)
On Sunday, the Chinese coast guard blamed Philippine ships for causing the collisions and said the Filipinos were carrying construction materials to strengthen their outpost on the sandbar.
The United States and other allies expressed alarm at the Chinese action. Washington renewed a warning that it is obligated to defend the Philippines under a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty if Philippine forces, ships and aircraft come under armed attack, including “those of its coast guard, anywhere in the Sea of Southern China.
“The United States stands with our Philippine allies in the face of the dangerous and illegal actions of the People’s Republic of China’s maritime militia and coast guard in obstructing a Philippine resupply mission on October 22 to Second Thomas Shoal,” the Department of Defense said. State of the United States in a statement issued by its embassy in Manila.
He blamed the dangerous maneuvers of the Chinese ships for the collisions, adding that they “violated international law by intentionally interfering with the exercise of freedom of navigation on the high seas by Philippine ships.”
The State Department also cited a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated China’s extensive claims to the South China Sea on historical grounds, including at Second Thomas Shoal.
Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela (left) talks with Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Colonel Medel Aguilar during a press conference. (AP Photo/Aarón Favila)
Washington does not claim the disputed sea, but has deployed forces to patrol the waters to promote freedom of navigation and overflight, moves that have angered Beijing, which has warned the United States to stop meddling in what it says is a purely dispute. Asian.
(with information from AP)
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