Philippines to resist China's 'reckless behaviour' in South China Sea

MANILA: The Philippines' defence minister said on Monday (Jun 17) that the country's armed forces will resist China's "dangerous and reckless behaviour" in territory claimed by Manila in the South China Sea.

"We will exert our utmost in order to fulfill our sworn mandate to protect our territorial integrity, sovereignty, and sovereign rights," Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said in a statement after China accused a Philippine resupply ship of causing a slight collision in the strategic waterway.

China's actions "are the true obstacles to peace and stability in the South China Sea," Teodoro said.

Manila and Beijing, which have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, on Monday, exchanged accusations over a collision during a Philippine resupply mission in the Second Thomas Shoal located within its 320km exclusive economic zone.

ASIA-PACIFIC COUNTRIES CHALLENGE CHINA'S CLAIMS

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China has been at odds with many other countries in the Asia-Pacific for years over its sweeping maritime claims, including almost all of the South China Sea, a strategic and resource-rich waterway around which Beijing has drawn a ten-dash-line on its official maps to mark its territory.

Beijing is in the midst of a massive military expansion and has become increasingly assertive in pursuing those claims, with more frequent confrontations, primarily with the Philippines, but also with Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

A UN tribunal in 2016 ruled to invalidate Beijing's claims in the South China Sea, but China did not participate in the proceedings and has rejected the ruling.

In the latest incident, a Chinese vessel collided with a Philippine supply ship near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. China’s coast guard said a Philippine supply ship entered waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands that is part of the territory claimed by several nations. The Philippine military called the Chinese coast guard’s report “deceptive and misleading”.

There have been multiple other incidents in the last six months between Chinese and Philippines vessels.

In April, Chinese coast guard ships fired water cannon at two Philippine patrol vessels near the Scarborough Shoal, another hotly disputed area where tensions have flared on and off. 

Philippine officials say water cannons could damage their ships’ engines, or even capsize the smaller vessels. China called its move a “necessary measure”, accusing the Philippines of violating China’s sovereignty. China also re-installed a floating barrier across the entrance to the shoal’s vast fishing lagoon.

Also that month, a Chinese coast guard ship blocked a Philippine patrol vessel near Second Thomas Shoal, causing a near-collision.

Before the incident, a Chinese naval vessel had shadowed two Philippine patrol boats as they cruised near Subi, one of seven barren reefs in the Spratly Islands that China has transformed in the last decade into a missile-protected island military outpost. Subi is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

Incidents often take place during Philippine resupply missions to a garrison of Filipino troops on a grounded navy vessel, the Sierra Madre, aimed at asserting Manila's claims to the reef.

AREA 200KM FROM PHILIPPINES, OVER 1000KM FROM CHINA

The shoal lies about 200km from the western Philippine island of Palawan and more than 1,000km from China's nearest major landmass, Hainan Island.

The United States, an ally of Manila, voiced concern over China's actions.

US ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson said in a post on social media that Washington "condemns" China's "aggressive dangerous manoeuvres which caused bodily injury, damaged Philippine vessels and hindered lawful maritime operations".

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby later told reporters in Washington that China's behaviour was "provocative" and could spark larger conflicts.

"It's reckless and unnecessary, and it could lead to misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to something much bigger and much more violent," Kirby said.

A State Department spokesman meanwhile called the actions "escalatory" and noted that a US-Philippines defence treaty includes "armed attacks" on its Coast Guard "anywhere in the South China Sea.