A Chinese militia vessel, top, and a Philippine coast guard ship near the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on October 22. Photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines via AP
Published October 28, 2023
- Amid rising tension in the disputed region, Manila’s defence secretary has said he hopes more nations would be ‘willing to join our fight’
- Analyst says some nations would be more committed while others, including EU and South Korea, may also step up, with or without bullets
Three tiers of countries, with Australia, Japan and the United States among them, are likely to join in the Philippines’ “fight” with China over South China Sea skirmishes and confrontations, according to one analyst.
On Wednesday, the Philippines defence secretary said that Manila will boost multilateral activities, including freedom of navigation patrols in the disputed region.
Gilberto Teodoro also expressed hope that more countries would “join our fight” after the Philippines and China earlier this week accused each other of raising tensions in the disputed waterway.
Manila said China’s coastguard intentionally collided with its boats during a resupply mission to a small contingent of troops stationed on a rusty ship, purposely grounded in 1999 in the Philippines’ 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
China, which said the Philippine boats “bumped dangerously” into its coastguard vessels, claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, despite an international arbitration award declaring that such a claim has no legal basis.
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SOURCE: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3239460/south-china-sea-us-australia-japan-would-join-philippines-china-fight-says-analyst
RELATED: Chinese fighter jet got within 10 feet of US bomber over South China Sea, US military says
Published October 28, 2023
A Chinese fighter jet came within 10 feet of a US Air Force B-52 bomber flying over the South China Sea on Tuesday, according to the US military.
The Chinese pilot “flew in an unsafe and unprofessional manner, demonstrated poor airmanship by closing with uncontrolled excessive speed, flying below, in front of, and within 10 feet of the B-52, putting both aircraft in danger of collision,” US Indo-Pacific Command said in a Thursday statement. “We are concerned this pilot was unaware of how close he came to causing a collision.”
News of the latest Chinese intercept comes as President Joe Biden is expected to speak with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi when he visits the White House on Friday, CNN reported on Thursday. It is not clear whether the meeting will be a formal discussion or a more informal meet and greet. Wang is also expected to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday and national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Friday.
Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping may also meet on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in San Francisco next month, though neither side has confirmed finalized plans.
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SOURCE: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/26/politics/china-fighter-jet-us-bomber-south-china-sea/index.html
RELATED: China to US: Stop supporting PH claims on WPS
Published October 27, 2023
China said the US should stop supporting the Philippines, which it claimed was making illegal claims over the West Philippine Sea.
Mao Ning, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, on Thursday said “the US is not a party to the South China Sea issue” after President Joe Biden warned that an armed attack on the Philippine public vessel would invoke Washington’s mutual defense treaty with Manila amid Beijing’s aggression in the waters.
Mao also said the US “has no right to interfere in the issue between China and the Philippines.”
“The US defense commitment to the Philippines should not undermine China’s sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in South China Sea, nor should it support the illegal claims of the Philippines,” she added.
The Philippines’ claims over the West Philippine Sea, a part of the bigger South China Sea that China claims in its entirety, is based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Ruling issued by The Hague.
The Philippines operations are also being conducted within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
In an earlier statement, the Chinese Embassy in Manila also accused the US of creating “instabilities” around the world as it called out the latter for meddling in China’s issue with the Philippines on the South China Sea.
It claimed the US is attempting to “destabilize the Asia-Pacific region,” but it expressed confidence that “such scheme is doomed to fail.”
“In seeking selfish geopolitical interests, the US has incited troubles and magnified differences in the South China Sea,” the Chinese Embassy said, claiming it was “quite clear to countries in the region.”
“Rather than being a self-claimed responsible power, the US actually created many instabilities across the world, leaving behind one mess after another,” it added.
The Chinese Embassy’s remark stemmed from the US Embassy in Manila’s echoing of the US State Department’s support for the Philippines in the Ayungin Shoal issue after a dangerous maneuver by China against a Philippine boat that led to a collision in the Philippine waters.
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SOURCE: https://mb.com.ph/2023/10/26/china-to-us-stop-supporting-ph-claims-on-wps
