On August 31, the U.S. Department of State issued a strongly worded statement condemning the latest in a series of dangerous and escalatory actions by China against the Philippines in the South China Sea throughout August.
“A China Coast Guard vessel deliberately collided three times with a Philippine Coast Guard vessel exercising its freedom of navigation in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), causing damage to the vessel and jeopardizing the safety of the crew onboard,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, referring to an incident that occurred on August 31.
Within the past several weeks, there have been at least three other incidents in the same area involving ships belonging to the two countries. The area in question, the so-called Sabina Shoal, claimed by China as Xianbin Jiao and as Escoda Shoal by the Philippines, is located about 75 nautical miles from the Philippines’ west coast and 630 nautical miles from China.
This was the latest incident in the Philippines’ longstanding territorial spat with China, which claims almost all of the South China Sea, a corridor for over $3 trillion in annual global maritime trade. China claims swathes of the South China Sea, including areas the Philippines views as part of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Countering China, Philippines, U.S. build closer ties
In response to increasing pressure from China, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Junior has built closer ties with the United States, with which the Philippines maintains a mutual defense treaty, which itself was significantly upgraded in 2023, but that treaty does not formally establish new permanent U.S. bases in the Philippines.
As part of that relationship, the U.S. has gained increased rights to use Philippine military facilities and bases, and the two allies have expanded bilateral military exercises. Senior U.S. officials from President Biden on down consistently state that the mutual defense pact is “iron-clad” and Philippine naval, coast guard and civilian vessels are covered by it.
Text of U.S. Statement:
“U.S. Support for the Philippines in the South China Sea
The United States stands with its ally, the Philippines, and condemns the dangerous and escalatory actions by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) against lawful Philippine maritime operations in the vicinity of Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea on August 31. A China Coast Guard vessel deliberately collided three times with a Philippine Coast Guard vessel exercising its freedom of navigation in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), causing damage to the vessel and jeopardizing the safety of the crew onboard.
This is the latest in a series of dangerous and escalatory actions by the PRC. On multiple occasions throughout August 2024, the PRC has aggressively disrupted lawful Philippine aerial and maritime operations in the South China Sea, including at Sabina Shoal. The PRC’s unlawful claims of “territorial sovereignty” over ocean areas where no land territory exists, and its increasingly aggressive actions to enforce them, threaten the freedoms of navigation and overflight of all nations.
The United State reiterates its call for the PRC to comport its claims and actions with international law and to desist from dangerous and destabilizing conduct.
The United States reaffirms that Article IV of the 1951 United States-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft – including those of its Coast Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea.”
