Asia-Pacific

Tensions rise in South China Sea between China and Philippines

Manila withdraws vessel from contested shoal as US warns mutual defense treaty could be triggered

Dong Jun, Chinese defence minister: suggested that countries in the region should resolve their problems without involving foreign states, declaring that their security remains “in their own hands”. Photograph: Shutterstock
Denis Staunton in Beijing
Mon Sept 16 2024 - 06:00

The Philippines has said it is sending a new vessel to “immediately take over” from a coast guard ship that returned to port on Sunday from a disputed atoll in the South China Sea. Manila said blocking and ramming by the Chinese coastguard had left the Teresa Magbuana, the Philippines’ largest coast guard vessel, damaged and its crew dehydrated and malnourished.

The Philippines sent the Teresa Magbuana to the Sabina Shoal last April to deter China from seizing the reef, which it claims historic rights over. Beijing claims almost the whole of the South China Sea as its maritime waters, although an international arbitration panel rejected its claims in 2016.

Beijing condemned the deployment of the Philippines vessel as “a serious violation of China’s territorial sovereignty, a serious violation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and a serious undermining of regional peace and stability”. Chinese coast guard vessels rammed the Teresa Magbuana near the Sabina Shoal last month and a Philippines vessel rammed a Chinese boat.

The National Maritime Council of the Philippines said on Sunday that the Teresa Magbuana had carried out its “sentinel duties against overwhelming odds” and was returning to port with its mission accomplished. Manila said it was sending another vessel to the reef but the Chinese coast guard said it would continue to carry out what it called “law enforcement” operations there.

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The two sides had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the maritime issues between China and the Philippines, in particular the issue of Xianbin Jiao

China and the Philippines, which have also been engaged in a stand-off over the Second Thomas Shoal, another reef in the South China Sea, held talks in Beijing last week. China’s foreign affairs vice-minister Chen Xiaodong and Maria Theresa Lazaro, the Philippine undersecretary for foreign affairs, met as part of the China-Philippines Bilateral Consultation Mechanism, which was established in 2017.

“The two sides had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the maritime issues between China and the Philippines, in particular the issue of Xianbin Jiao,” the Chinese foreign ministry said, using the Chinese name for the Sabina Shoal.

“The Chinese side reiterated its principled position on the issue of Xianbin Jiao and urged the Philippine side to immediately withdraw relevant vessels.”

Ms Lazaro described the talks as candid discussions about managing the portion of the South China Sea that the Philippines regards as its exclusive economic zone.

“We agreed to continue discussions on areas of cooperation, especially on hotline mechanisms, coastguard cooperation, and marine scientific and technological cooperation,” she said.

The National Maritime Council of the Philippines said on Sunday that the Teresa Magbuana had carried out its “sentinel duties against overwhelming odds”

Tensions in the South China Sea were among the issues discussed at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, a three-day military diplomacy event that ended on Saturday, although the Philippines stayed away. About 1,800 delegates from more than 100 countries and international organisations were at the forum, which has become an increasingly important security policy meeting in recent years.

The US has warned that an escalation in China’s dispute with the Philippines could trigger Washington’s mutual defence treaty with Manila. But China’s defence minister Dong Jun suggested that countries in the region should resolve their problems without involving foreign states, declaring that their security remains “in their own hands”.

Singapore’s defence minister Ng Eng Hen called for dialogue to resolve disputes in the South China Sea, but he also said that Beijing and Washington must put their relations on a better trajectory. And although he welcomed China’s contribution to the debate on global governance, he said that inclusivity and universality were crucial to maintaining peace and progress.

“More countries will find it easy to support a vision that espouses common rules that bind and benefit all countries, whether big or small,” he said.