South China Sea stress rises as Philippines refers to China as aggressor

• South China Sea stress rises as the Philippines refers to China as an aggressor.
• It has prompted international condemnation and concerns expressed by the US.
• The Philippines urged China to cease its “illegal” and “provocative” actions.

The Philippines labeled China as an “aggressor,” accusing it of escalating tensions in the South China Sea and causing a collision that damaged one of Manila’s supply boats during a resupply mission on Monday.

It has prompted international condemnation and concerns expressed by the United States while the incident on Sunday involving a Chinese coast guard ship and a smaller Philippine wooden resupply boat did not result in injuries.

Philippine foreign ministry spokesperson Teresita Daza stated during a joint news conference on Monday, “All incidents like this will bolster the case that it’s not the Philippines that’s the aggressor, but the other party, which is China.”

China’s coast guard claimed on Sunday that there was a “slight collision” between one of its ships and the Philippine boat while the coast guard was lawfully preventing the transport of “illegal construction materials.”

This is not the first time China’s coast guard, supported by its maritime militia boats, has disrupted the Philippines’ resupply missions. On August 5, a Chinese coastguard ship used a water cannon against a resupply boat.

These regular resupply missions support Philippine troops residing on the BRP Sierra Madre, a former warship that Manila grounded on the Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to assert sovereignty claims.

The shoal, referred to as Ayungin in Manila and Renai Reef in China, lies within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. held a security meeting on Monday to address “the latest violation by China” and instructed the country’s coast guard to investigate the incident, which his office noted “is being taken seriously at the highest level of government.”

Under Marcos, tensions between China and the Philippines have increased, with complaints about Beijing’s aggressive behavior and efforts to strengthen ties with traditional ally, the United States.

Maritime confrontations between Manila and Beijing have become a frequent occurrence in the South China Sea as both nations assert their territorial claims in these strategically important waters.

The Philippines urged China to cease its “illegal” and “provocative” actions in the South China Sea, emphasizing the need to respect the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which found that China’s expansive claims had no legal basis.

Images from the Philippine coast guard displayed three of the four boats involved in Sunday’s resupply operation, surrounded by seven larger Chinese coast guard vessels.

Jonathan Malaya, spokesperson at the Philippines’ National Security Council, attributed Sunday’s collision to China’s actions, even as the Chinese embassy in Manila claimed that the Philippine vessels were “trespassing” in the shoal.

“We are relieved and thankful that no Filipino personnel were harmed. But we are concerned by the escalation and provocations by Chinese vessels, who have no business being in the West Philippine Sea,” Malaya expressed.

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