World News | US again warns to defend Philippines after spat with China

MANILA, Feb. 14 (AP) — The United States has again warned it will defend its treaty ally if Philippine troops come under armed attack in the disputed South China Sea, after Chinese coast guard ships were said to have used military-grade patrol boats A laser that hit a Philippine patrol boat temporarily blinded some crew members.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said China’s “dangerous actions directly threaten regional peace and stability, violate freedom of navigation in the South China Sea guaranteed by international law, and undermine the rules-based international order.”

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“The United States stands with our Philippine ally,” Price said in a statement after the Philippines on Monday accused a Chinese Coast Guard ship of using lasers to prevent the Philippine patrol ship BRP Malapascua from approaching Second Thomas Shoal on Feb. 6. This is a reef occupied by the Philippine Army.

“An armed attack on the Armed Forces of the Philippines, public vessels or aircraft, including the South China Sea Coast Guard, will invoke the United States’ mutual defense commitment under the 1951 treaty,” he said. The treaty obligates allies to help each other defend against external attack.

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In addition to China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims to the resource-rich and busy waterway through which much of the world’s commerce and oil is transshipped.

Washington has no claim to the disputed sea but has deployed troops to patrol it to promote freedom of navigation and overflight – a move that has angered Beijing, which has warned Washington to stop meddling in what it says is a purely Asian dispute.

The disputed waters have become a volatile front in the broader rivalry between the United States and China in Asia and beyond.

At one point, the Chinese vessel also came dangerously close to the BRP Malapascua, about 137 meters (449 feet), the Philippine Coast Guard said, calling China’s actions a flagrant violation of Manila’s sovereignty.

Price said the Chinese coast guard’s actions were “provocative and unsafe” and interfered with the Philippines’ “legitimate operations” in and around Second Thomas Shoal.

In July, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on China to abide by a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing’s vast territorial claims in the South China Sea and warned that if Philippine troops, ships or aircraft were sanctioned , Washington is obliged to defend the Philippines, a treaty ally. Attacks in disputed waters.

On Monday, Price reiterated Washington’s call for China to abide by the 2016 ruling, adding that the “legally binding decision” underscores that China “has no legitimate maritime claim” to Second Thomas Shoal.

China has long rejected the ruling and will continue to defy it.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in Beijing on Monday that a Philippine coast guard ship entered Chinese waters without permission on Feb. 6. The Chinese coast guard ship “responded professionally and with restraint at the scene in accordance with Chinese law and international law,” he said, without elaborating or mentioning the use of the laser.

“We hope that the Philippine side will earnestly respect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, and refrain from taking any actions that may expand disputes and complicate the situation,” Wang Yi said when asked by reporters. daily media briefing, adding that the two sides held talks after the incident.

China claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea, putting it in conflict with other claimants.While former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in January, tensions persisted, prompting tensions between the Philippines and the United States. closer military alliances

In 2022 alone, the Philippines has lodged nearly 200 diplomatic protests against Chinese aggression in disputed waters. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)