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13-04-2024
MANILA/ TOKYO/ WASHINGTON: The leaders of Japan, the Philippines and the United States have voiced “serious concern” over China’s actions in the disputed South China Sea.
Beijing has stepped up its activities in the strategic waterway in recent years, and tensions have risen, particularly with the Philippines, one of several Southeast Asian countries that claim the parts of the sea around their coasts.
Last month, Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos said Manila would take countermeasures against China after a confrontation off Second Thomas Shoal injured Filipino soldiers and damaged vessels.
“We express our serious concerns about the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) dangerous and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea,” the three leaders said in a joint statement at the end of a first-ever summit between the three countries, which took place in Washington, DC.
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea under its so-called nine-dash line, which was rejected by an international court in 2016.
As well as the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam also claim parts of the sea.
The statement noted the “importance of respecting the sovereign rights of states within their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) consistent with international law, as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)”.
It also reiterated the three state’s opposition to China’s “dangerous and coercive use of Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels in the South China Sea”.
Second Thomas Shoal, known as Ayungin in the Philippines, has been the site of multiple standoffs between Beijing and Manila in recent months, with China’s coastguard using water cannon against ships trying to resupply a contingent of Filipino sailors living aboard the deliberately grounded Sierra Madre.
The shoal lies about 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan, placing it within the Philippines’ EEZ, according to UNCLOS.
It lies more than 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) from China’s southern Hainan Island.
Manila has accused China’s coastguard of firing water cannon at one of its supply boats, in the latest incident between the two countries in the disputed South China Sea.
The Philippine military said the Saturday morning confrontation lasted for nearly an hour and took place as it sought to resupply a small garrison of sailors on board the sunken Sierra Madre off Second Thomas Shoal.
The shoal, known as Ayungin in the Philippines, has been the site of multiple similar stand-offs in recent months. It lies about 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) from China’s southern Hainan Island.
The military released a video clip showing a white ship marked China Coast Guard crossing the bow of a grey vessel it identified as the Philippine supply boat Unaizah May 4, and unleashing its water cannon.
“The UM4 supply boat sustained heavy damages at around 08:52 (00:52 GMT) due to the continued blasting of water cannons from the CCG vessels,” the military said in a statement, without going into detail about the damage.
A Philippine Coast Guard escort vessel later reached the damaged boat “to provide assistance”, the military said.
Gan Yu, a spokesman for the China Coast Guard, said that the Philippine convoy “forcibly intruded into the area despite the Chinese side’s repeated warnings and route controls”, adding the Chinese carried out “control, obstruction and eviction in accordance with law”. (Int’l News Desk)
