U.S. reiterates its obligation to defend the Philippines after new clash with China at sea
The U.S. reiterated its obligation to defend the Philippines after Filipino navy personnel were injured in a confrontation with China in the South China Sea.
MANILA, Philippines — The United States renewed a warning Tuesday that it is obligated to defend its close treaty ally a day after Filipino navy personnel were injured and their supply boats damaged in one of the most serious confrontations between the Philippines and China in a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, officials said.
China and the Philippines blamed each other for instigating Monday’s hostilities in the Second Thomas Shoal, which has been occupied by a small Filipino navy contingent aboard a grounded warship that has been closely watched by Chinese coast guard, navy and suspected militia ships in a yearslong territorial standoff. There is fear that the disputes, long regarded as an Asian flashpoint, could escalate and pit the United States and China against each other in a larger conflict.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell discussed China’s actions with his Philippine counterpart, Maria Theresa Lazaro, in a telephone call. Both agreed that China’s “dangerous actions threatened regional peace and stability,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Campbell reaffirmed that the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, which obligates Washington and Manila to help defend the other in major conflicts, “extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft — including those of its coast guard — anywhere in the South China Sea,” according to Miller.
A Philippine government task force overseeing the territorial disputes condemned what it said were “dangerous maneuvers, including ramming and towing,” which disrupted a routine effort to transport food, water and other supplies to the Filipinos manning the territorial outpost aboard the BRP Sierra Madre at the shoal.
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