Why tensions are flaring in the South China Sea between China and the Philippines

An incident in the South China Sea is flaring up tensions between China and the Philippines. On Sunday, two Chinese ships collided with two Philippine vessels in separate incidents. Each country has roundly condemned the other. The Philippine task force in a statement said that the “dangerous, irresponsible and illegal actions of the Chinese Coast Guard, which took place on Sunday morning, were “in violation of Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction”. China, meanwhile, has accused the Philippines of violating international maritime law. Let’s take a closer look at how tensions flared up in the South China Sea and the latest between the two nations: What happened? Philippine officials claimed that a Chinese coast guard ship and one of its militia vessels separately bumped a Philippine coast guard ship and a military-run supply boat Sunday off the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The task force said the collisions occurred off Second Thomas Shoal as two Philippine supply boats escorted by two Philippine coast guard ships were heading to deliver food and other supplies to the atoll in the face of a years-long Chinese blockade. [caption id=“attachment_13285312” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] In this image released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, a Philippines supply boat, top left, sails near a Chinese coast guard ship, top right, and a Chinese militia vessel off Second Thomas Shoal, locally called Ayungin Shoal, at the disputed South China Sea on Sunday. AP[/caption] A Philippine government task force said the “dangerous blocking maneuvers of China Coast Guard vessel 5203 caused it to collide with the Armed Forces of the Philippines-contracted indigenous resupply boat” about 25 kilometres from Second Thomas Shoal. In another incident, a Philippine coastguard vessel escorting the routine resupply mission was “bumped” by what the task force described as a “Chinese Maritime Militia vessel”. Why are tensions rising? Because the Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands is one of the most fiercely contested areas in the busy South China Sea, where China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have had overlapping territorial claims for decades. Beijing claims nearly the entire South China Sea – through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually – by deploying hundreds of vehicles.

It has ignored an international ruling that states that its assertion has no legal basis.

As per CNN, that ruling was handed down in favour of the Philippines by an international tribunal in The Hague. The ruling stated that China’s ‘historic claim’ to the South China Sea had no legal basis. Near-collisions have happened frequently as Philippine vessels regularly deliver supplies to Filipino marines and sailors stationed on the disputed shoal. But this was the first time Philippine officials have reported their country’s vessels being hit by China’s ships. Second Thomas Shoal is about 200 kilometres from the western Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 1,000 kilometres from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan island. The Philippine Navy deliberately grounded the World War II-era BRP Sierra Madre on the shoal in 1999 to check China’s advance in the waters. [caption id=“attachment_13282432” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A Philippine flag flutters from BRP Sierra Madre, a dilapidated Philippine Navy ship that has been aground since 1999 and became a Philippine military detachment on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands, in the South China Sea, Reuters[/caption] The troops stationed on the crumbling ship depend on regular supply deliveries for their survival. As per BBC, only a few Filipino troops are present on the ship. The Philippines, a long-time US ally, has outposts on nine reefs and islands in the Spratlys, including Second Thomas Shoal. What do experts say? That China and the Philippines have been growing more antagonistic of late. As per BBC, Philippine authorities say China has upped the ante since its President Ferdinand Marcos Jr came to power in June 2022. Macros Jr has attempted to get closer to Washington – Beijing’s arch-rival in the South China Sea. Indeed, US Ambassador to the Philippines, MaryKay L Carlson, on X said America condemns China’s “disruption” of the Philippines’ resupply mission because it put Filipinos’ lives at risk.

The United States condemns PRC’s latest disruption of a legal Philippine resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal, putting the lives of Filipino service members at risk. We stand with our #FriendsPartnersAllies in protecting 🇵🇭 sovereignty and in support of a #FreeAndOpenIndoPacific.

— Ambassador MaryKay L. Carlson (@USAmbPH) October 22, 2023

  As per The Week, The Pentagon has vowed to protect the Philippines if its coast guard came under attack “anywhere in the South China Sea”. Meanwhile, the Canadian and Japanese embassies have also backed the Philippines over the incidents. What have the countries said? The Philippine government condemned the incident in “the strongest degree” and called it a violation of Manila’s sovereignty, the officials said. “The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea condemns in the strongest degree the latest dangerous, irresponsible, and illegal actions of the CCG and the Chinese Maritime Militia done this morning,” the task force said in a statement. It said the “provocative, irresponsible, and illegal action” of the Chinese coastguard boat had endangered the safety of the crew on board the supply boat. A second resupply boat was able to reach the grounded BRP Sierra Madre and “successfully resupply our troops and personnel stationed there”, the statement said. CNN quoted China as claiming that the Philippines violated international marine law. It claimed the first ship illegally entered the waters of what it has named the Nansha islands and Renai Reef.

It said its coast guard then halted the vessel “in accordance with the law,” which caused a “minor collision.”

The Chinese claimed the second incident occurred after the Philippine Coast Guard vessel “purposely provoked trouble and reversed course.” This, in turn, caused it to hit a Chinese fishing boat. As per CGTN, Beijing claimed it halted Philippine vehicles that were trying to illegally send construction materials to the military vessel illegally “grounded” at Ren’ai Jiao in the South China Sea. It only took action after several rounds of dissuasion and warnings fell on deaf ears, it further claimed. It said the actions of the Philippine vessels “seriously violated the international rules for avoiding collisions at sea” as well as imperilled the safety of Beijing’s ships. It claimed the actions of its vessels were “professional, standardized, legitimate and legal” and that the responsibility lay entirely with the Philippines. Tensions between Manila and Beijing flared in August when China Coast Guard vessels used water cannon against a Philippine resupply mission to the reef, preventing one of the boats from delivering its cargo. With inputs from agencies