Ripples, yet again, in the West Philippine Sea, when China less than a week back was reported by the Philippine Coast Guard to have blocked its vessels for a resupply mission.
The PCG said its vessels were en route to Ayungin Shoal, when China blocked and fired water cannons against the mission the former said directly threatened the peace and stability in the region.
China’s coast guard countered it was implementing necessary controls in accordance with the law to deter Philippine ships, which it accused of trespassing and carrying illegal building materials.
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, an assertion rejected internationally, while Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines have various claims to certain areas.
Immediately, the US Department of State said the People’s Republic of China’s firing of water cannons and employing unsafe blocking maneuvers against PCG vessels on Saturday “interfered with the Philippines’ lawful exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and jeopardized the safety of the Philippine vessels and crew.”
In a statement shared by the US Embassy in Manila via Twitter, the State Department reaffirmed its commitment with the Philippines and called on China to follow international rules and order because it has “no lawful claim” to the resource-rich region.
“The United States stands with our Philippine allies in the face of dangerous actions by the Coast Guard and maritime militia of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to obstruct an August 5 Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea,” the statement read.
“Firing water cannons and employing unsafe blocking maneuvers, PRC ships interfered with the Philippines’ lawful exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and jeopardized the safety of the Philippine vessels and crew,” it added.
The US State Department wrote: “By impeding necessary provisions from reaching the Filipino service members stationed at Second Thomas Shoal, the PRC has also undertaken unwarranted interference in lawful Philippine maritime operations.”
The US also expressed Washington’s willingness to invoke its mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 US Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty in case of an “armed attack on Philippine public vessels, aircraft, and armed forces – including those of its Coast Guard in the South China Sea.”
It called on China “to abide by the arbitral ruling (in 2016 that invalidated China’s nine-dash line claim) as well as to respect the freedom of navigation – a right to which all states are entitled.”
We hope to see more positive collaboration beyond words.