Why the U.S. could get drawn into a conflict in the South China Sea

A long-running dispute over uninhabited reefs has brought China and the Philippines into growing conflict that could draw in the United States.

HONG KONG — A long-running dispute over uninhabited reefs has brought China and the Philippines into growing conflict that could draw in the United States.

Competing claims in the strategically vital South China Sea have brought a series of maritime clashes between China and the Philippines, a U.S. ally with which Washington has a mutual defense treaty, meaning an attack on the Philippines would trigger the decades-old pact for the U.S. to defend the nation.

The U.S. has condemned what it calls China’s “escalatory and irresponsible” actions and reiterated its military commitments to the Philippines, including against any attack in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety.

Gaining control of the South China Sea is about food, oil and power: An estimated one-third of global shipping passes through its waters; it is a vital fishing ground on which millions of people depend, and it contains vast oil and gas reserves beneath its seabed. Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also claim parts of the South China Sea.

In the most recent incident, the Philippine military said earlier this month that two Chinese air force jets had dropped flares in the path of a Philippine military transport plane conducting a routine patrol over the Scarborough Shoal in what Manila called “dangerous and provocative actions.” It was the first time the Philippines had complained about provocative actions by Chinese aircraft rather than Chinese ships since Ferdinand Marcos Jr. became president in 2022.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/us-get-drawn-conflict-south-china-sea-rcna166874

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