 "Manila has also raised concerns that Chinese forces might take action against the warship BRP Sierra Madre, an ageing ship that was deliberately grounded on the shoal in 1999 to assert Philippine claims to the area Image Courtesy AP")
In response to Beijing’s “illegal actions” in the South China Sea, President Ferdinand Marcos stated on Thursday that the Philippines must take further measures.
Video captured last week’s events as Chinese coast guard soldiers brandishing knives, rods, and an axe encircled and boarded three Filipino naval vessels, thwarting what Manila claimed was an attempt to resupply soldiers stationed aboard a grounded warship on Second Thomas Shoal.
It was the most recent and worst event in a string of increasingly violent encounters between Chinese and Philippine vessels as Beijing intensifies its attempts to assert its rights over almost the whole strategically important waterway.
“We have filed over a hundred protests, we have already made a similar number of demarches,” Marcos told reporters.
“We have to do more than just that,” he said, without specifying what other steps Manila might take.
The clashes have raised concern the conflict will draw in the United States, which is bound by a 1951 mutual defence pact to come to Manila’s aid in case of an “armed attack” on its forces or vessels in the Pacific theatre.
Manila has also raised concerns that Chinese forces might take action against the warship BRP Sierra Madre, an ageing ship that was deliberately grounded on the shoal in 1999 to assert Philippine claims to the area.
A small garrison of Filipino marines stationed aboard the decrepit vessel relies on frequent resupply for survival.
Marcos on Thursday echoed his senior security aides’ assessment that the June 17 clash next to the grounded warship did not constitute an armed attack.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“It’s not armed. There was no gunshot. They did not point a gun at us, but it was a deliberate action to stop our people,” Marcos said.
“So, although there were no arms involved, nonetheless, it is still a deliberate action and it is essentially an illegal action that was taken by Chinese forces.”
A Filipino soldier lost a finger in the incident, with Manila also accusing the Chinese coast guard of stealing guns and damaging three boats along with navigational and communication equipment.
Beijing insisted its coast guard behaved in a “professional and restrained” way and blamed Manila for the clash.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said Wednesday that Manila had filed a diplomatic protest.
On Tuesday, Manalo told a Senate hearing that Manila hopes to convene a meeting with Beijing early next month “specifically to discuss the recent incidents”.
Second Thomas Shoal lies about 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan and more than 1,000 kilometres from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan island.
China deploys coast guard and other boats to patrol the waters around the shoal and has turned several reefs into artificial militarised islands.