By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News
The US has issued a warning in the wake of the latest confrontation between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.
A day after a Filipino sailor was injured in what Manila called an “intentional high-speed ramming,” a State Department spokesman once again brought up the mutual defense treaty between the US and the Philippines. He said the pact “extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft – including those of its coast guard – anywhere in the South China Sea.”
The incident occurred in what has become a familiar place – the Second Thomas Shoal. It’s located in the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone, and Manila has a deliberately grounded warship and a small group of personnel there.
But Beijing claims roughly 90 percent of the South China Sea as its own. In recent months, China’s coast guard has used water cannon and ramming tactics to harass Philippine ships that patrol the region and resupply its forces on the shoal.
In Monday’s confrontation, China said a Philippine ship ignored its warnings and “dangerously approached a Chinese vessel in normal navigation in an unprofessional manner, resulting in a collision.”
The US National Security Council said the Chinese action was “provocative, it’s reckless, it’s unnecessary and it could lead to misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to something much bigger and much more violent.”
Gen. John Murray, Former Commander, Army Futures Command
All this comes less than three weeks after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. warned Beijing not to cross what he called a “red line.”
At a question-and-answer session at a security conference in Singapore, Marcos was asked what would happen if a Chinese water cannon killed a Filipino sailor. The questioner wanted to know if that would trigger the treaty that requires the US to come to the Philippines aid.
“That is what I think very, very close to what we define as an act of war and therefore we will respond accordingly,” Marcos replied. “And our treaty partners, I believe, also hold that same standard…Is that a red line? Almost certainly it’s going to be a red line.”
In recent months, the US and the Philippines have strengthened their military ties. There have been multiple joint exercises involving thousands of troops. During of those drills, the US deployed medium-range missiles in the Philippines – the first time since the Cold War the US has placed such missiles in Asia.
Beijing accused the US of “strengthening forward deployment at China’s doorstep to seek unilateral military advantage.”
Meanwhile, the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan is being re-fueled and re-supplied for extended deterrence missions in the Philippine Sea, along with its carrier strike group. The Reagan’s presence underscores the continued ability of the US Navy to project massive air attack power in the region if needed.
