United States: The United States has accused China of intimidating and harassing Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, calling for an end to the “provocative” actions. This comes after a near-miss between a Chinese vessel and a Philippine Coast Guard boat near the Spratly Islands.

“We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct,” the US State Department spokesperson Mr. Matthew Miller said in a statement, just two days before President Mr. Joe Biden is to host his counterpart, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, in Washington, DC.

The State Department further warned that an attack on Philippine security forces or public vessels would trigger a US response.

“The United States stands with our Philippine allies in upholding the rules-based international maritime order and reaffirms that an armed attack in the Pacific, which includes the South China Sea, on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft, including those of the Coast Guard, would invoke US mutual defense commitments,” Miller said in the statement.

The Philippines has also accused China’s coast guard of using aggressive tactics during a patrol near the Second Thomas Shoal. This shoal is home to a small Philippine military group on an old US ship intentionally grounded there in 1999 to strengthen the Philippines’ territorial claims in the region.

The Chinese foreign ministry has claimed that the Philippine boats “intruded” without permission and called it a “premeditated and provocative action.”

In response, Manila has argued that their patrols are routine and will continue. Philippine President Marcos has emphasised that he will not allow China to undermine his country’s rights in the sea and has strengthened defense ties with the US to combat China’s increasing aggression in the region.

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