“United States raises alarm over near-miss collision with Philippine ship in South China Sea”

The United States raised its voice against China on Saturday after a near-miss collision with a Philippine ship.

By Le Figaro with AFP

Posted on 04/29/2023 at 22:15update on 04/29/2023 at 22:16

«We call on Beijing to desist from its provocative and dangerous actionin the South China Sea. The United States is stepping up to China this Saturday, April 29, in a statement by US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, after a near-miss collision between a Chinese Coast Guard vessel and a ship. Filipino.

The Americans have also firmly reaffirmed Washington’s support for its “allyfrom the Philippines, recalling that “an armed attack in the Pacific, which includes the South China Sea, against Philippine armed forces, government vessels, or aircraft, including those of the Coast Guard, would result in the application of United States mutual defense commitments. Unitedagainst the Philippines under a 1951 treaty.

Philippine President in Washington

The incident, which has raised the tone between Beijing and Manila, occurred on Sunday near the Spratly Islands, the day after talks in the Philippine capital of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr aiming precisely to defuse the discord in these contested waters.

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This comes as the Philippine president is expected in Washington on Monday to be received by his counterpart Joe Biden at the White House. Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, ignoring a 2016 international judgment that found its claims to have no legal basis.

China has redeveloped and militarized there, over the past ten years, thousands of hectares of reefs where landing strips, ports and radar systems have grown.

A long series of incidents

According to an AFP team who was on another Philippine boat, the Chinese coast guard vessel cut off the road to that of the Philippine coast guard and the collision was narrowly avoided. The incident is the latest in a long series.

«Images and videos recently released in the media are stark reminders of the People’s Republic of China harassing and intimidating Philippine vessels carrying out routine patrols in their exclusive economic zone.“, also denounces the American State Department.

China responded to the incident on Friday by accusing the Philippines of havingdeliberatelywanted to provoke him. Manila assured his side that “droutine patrols in our own waters cannot be premeditated or provocative» and come under «a legal right that we have exercised and will continue to exercise».