MANILA: The United States renewed a warning that it would defend its treaty ally if Filipino forces come under attack in the disputed South China Sea, after a Chinese coast guard ship allegedly hit a Philippine patrol vessel with military-grade laser that briefly blinded some of its crew.
\nThe Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila sent a strongly worded diplomatic protest to the Chinese Embassy Tuesday that \u201ccondemned the shadowing, harassment, dangerous maneuvers, directing of military-grade laser, and illegal radio challenges\u201d by the Chinese ship.
\nThe incident took place Feb. 6. when the Chinese coast guard ship beamed high-grade lasers to block the Philippine patrol vessel BRP Malapascua from approaching Second Thomas Shoal on a resupply mission to Filipino forces there, according to Philippine officials.
\nChina claims the South China Sea virtually in its entirety, putting it on a collision course with other claimants. Chinese naval forces have been accused of using military-grade lasers previously against Australian military aircraft on patrol in the South China Sea and other spots in the Pacific.
\nDespite friendly overtures to Beijing by former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in January in Beijing, tensions have persisted, drawing in closer military alliance between the Philippines and the US
\nChinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Monday that a Philippine coast guard vessel trespassed into Chinese waters without permission. Chinese coast guard vessels responded \u201cprofessionally and with restraint at the site in accordance with China\u2019s law and international law,\u201d he said, without elaborating or mentioning the use of laser.
\nUS State Department spokesperson Ned Price said China\u2019s \u201cdangerous operational behavior directly threatens regional peace and stability, infringes upon freedom of navigation in the South China Sea as guaranteed under international law and undermines the rules-based international order.\u201d
\n\u201cThe United States stands with our Philippine allies,\u201d Price said in a statement.
\nHe said that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft, including those of the coast guard in the South China Sea, would invoke US mutual defense commitments under a 1951 treaty. The treaty obligates the allies to help defend one another in case of an external attack.
\nAside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims in the resource-rich and busy waterway, where a bulk of the world\u2019s commerce and oil transits.
\nWashington lays no claims to the disputed sea but has deployed forces to patrol the waters to promote freedom of navigation and overflight \u2014 moves that have angered Beijing, which has warned Washington to stop meddling in what it says is a purely Asian dispute.
\nThe contested waters have become a volatile front in the broader rivalry between the US and China in Asia and beyond.
\nPrice said the Chinese coast guard\u2019s \u201cprovocative and unsafe\u201d conduct interfered with the Philippines\u2019 \u201clawful operations\u201d in and around Second Thomas Shoal.
\nIn July, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on China to comply with a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing\u2019s vast territorial claims in the South China Sea and warned that Washington was obligated to defend the Philippines under the Mutual Defense Treaty.
\nOn Monday, Price reiterated that the \u201clegally binding decision\u201d underscored that China \u201chas no lawful maritime claims to the Second Thomas Shoal.\u201d China has long rejected the ruling and continues to defy it.
\nThe Philippines filed nearly 200 diplomatic protests against China\u2019s aggressive actions in the disputed waters in 2022 alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MANILA: The United States renewed a warning that it would defend its treaty ally if Filipino forces come under attack in the disputed South China Sea, after a Chinese coast guard ship allegedly hit a Philippine patrol vessel with military-grade laser that briefly blinded some of its crew. The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":313700,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-313688","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n