ANALYSIS – China is bullying the Philippines yet again. This time, a rusting former U.S. World War II-era landing ship used during the Vietnam War has sparked renewed tensions between China and the Philippines over territory in the South China Sea.
China appears not to like the idea of artificial military outposts in the region unless they belong to the People’s Liberation Army (PLAN). (RELATED: Message To Russia, China – US Army To Make 1 Million Artillery Shells A Year)
China has demanded the Philippines tow the BRP Sierra Madre from what the Chinese call the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, which the Philippines claims as its own sovereign territory, and return the site to its “unoccupied state.”
The Philippines has repeatedly refused. Now China has raised the stakes, using a water cannon against a small Filipino supply boat.
The shoal is about 124 miles from the Philippine island of Palawan and more than 621 miles from China’s nearest major land mass, Hainan Island. But China apparently wants to wrest control of it from the Philippines to build its own man-made island base.
On Monday China claimed the Philippines was reneging on a promise it made “explicitly” to remove the ship.
Like Beijing’s use of man-made islands throughout the South China Sea, Manila uses the grounded warship as an improvised base for a handful of Filipino Marines. It was deliberately run aground in 1999 on the Second Thomas Shoal to help the Philippines check the advances of the Chinese military in the region.
Manila has repeatedly accused the Chinese coast guard of impeding its ability to supply its troops there by blocking resupply missions, like on Saturday when a large warship sprayed a small Philippine vessel with a powerful water cannon in an “excessive and offensive” move.
The Philippine military and coast guard said six Chinese coast guard vessels and two Chinese “militia” boats were involved in Saturday’s incident.
By using water cannons from its ‘Coast Guard’ vessel, instead of real cannons, China is staying within the ‘gray zone’ of warfare just below taking clear military action.
Still, the belligerent action prompted the U.S. to warn Beijing that it is obliged to come to the defense of its ally if it is attacked. (RELATED: China Bullying Taiwan And Philippines Could Spark War With US)
Second Thomas Shoal, also known in China as Renai Reef, is one of a series of flashpoints where Chinese coast guard, maritime surveillance ships and maritime militia ships have stepped up harassment of vessels from rival claimants over the past two years.
China illegally claims almost the entire South China Sea, which includes Second Thomas Shoal.
In 2016, an arbitration tribunal ruled China’s South China Sea claim illegal under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, but Beijing has rejected the award and continues to ignore it.
Referring to the claimed promise China referenced, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Wednesday he was “not aware” of any agreement with China to remove the vessel.
“I’m not aware of any agreement that the Philippines should remove from its own territory its own ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, from the Ayungin Shoal,” Marcos said in a video posted on the Presidential Communications Office’s Facebook page, using the Philippine name for Second Thomas Shoal.
He added: “And let me go further, if such an agreement does exist, I rescind that agreement as of now.”
Since taking office in June 2022, Marcos has defended his country’s maritime rights against an encroaching China and has also sought to strengthen defense ties with its long-time ally the United States.
“The Philippine government will never enter into an agreement where we will abandon our sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Ayungin shoal,” Jonathan Malaya, National Security Council assistant director general, told reporters.
“For all intents and purposes, it is a figment of their imagination,” Malaya said, challenging China to produce evidence of the alleged promise.
The Philippines was “committed to maintain” the rusty ship on the shoal, Malaya said, adding it was “our symbol of sovereignty in a shoal located in our EEZ [Economic Exclusion Zone].”
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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