China-Philippines dispute intensifies over grounded warship

BEIJING/MANILA, Aug 8 (Reuters) – China again asked the Philippines on Tuesday to tow a stranded warship – a World War II-era ship now used as a military post – from a disputed shoal, after Manila rejected Beijing’s earlier demand.

Tensions have soared between the two neighbors over the South China Sea under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with Manila turning to the United States, which supports the Southeast Asian nation in its maritime disputes with China.

The Second Thomas Shoal, which lies within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, is home to a handful of troops who live aboard the former warship Sierra Madre. Manila deliberately ran the vessel aground in 1999 to bolster its sovereignty claims.

Manila has repeatedly accused the Chinese coast guard of blocking its troop resupply missions there, such as it did on Aug. 5 when it sprayed a Philippine ship with a water cannon.

China maintains that the occupation of the shoal by the Philippines is illegal.

The Philippine military described the actions of the Chinese coast guard on Saturday as “excessive and offensiveChina said the incident was a “warning” and that it has exercised “rational restraint” at all times.

CONTROL

Security experts say China’s actions around the atoll point to one thing: Beijing wants to seize control of Second Thomas Shoal, also known in China as Renai Reef, and Ayungin in Manila.

“We must re-establish control of the sea around the shoal because if we don’t control it, our replenishment is vulnerable to their coercive tactics,” said Rommel Ong, a maritime security expert and retired vice commander of the Philippine Navy.

It was not the first time that the Chinese coast guard had aimed a water cannon at a Manila ship, having done the same in November 2021.

No one was injured during the Aug. 5 incident, but Philippine officials said Monday that one of the two Manila ships did not complete its resupply mission. Both were back in a Philippine port.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, which overlaps with the exclusive economic zones of Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines.

Both Ong and Collin Koh, a security fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, believe China would think twice before using direct force to occupy the shoal lest it trigger a mutual defense treaty between the United States. and the 1951 Philippines, or prompt the Philippines and other Southeast Asian neighbors to seek help from extra-regional powers.

“There’s probably no question about whether China has the wherewithal to up the ante here, but more about its willingness on those political risks,” Koh said.

Jonathan Malaya, deputy director general of the National Security Council, urged China “not to escalate matters” and put the lives of the Philippines at risk.

CONCERN

Japan and France, through their embassies in Manila, expressed concern over China’s recent actions and reiterated their support for the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated Beijing’s expansive South China Sea claims.

The Philippine Foreign Ministry said Monday that it had been unable to communicate with its counterpart for several hours during the water cannon incident.

Edited by Bernadette Baum

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