Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week reiterated the U.S. is committed to backing the Philippines as the Pacific nation continues to clash with Chinese boats in the South China Sea, spurring fears that tensions will escalate into a wider conflict.
Blinken spoke with his counterpart, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo, on Wednesday and “underscored the United States’ ironclad commitments to the Philippines,” according to a State Department readout.
The talk came just two days after eight Chinese boats rammed Filipino inflatable boats and seized weapons, including M4 rifles and navigation equipment that had been bound for a beached ship at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea that acts as an outpost for the Philippines in the contested waters.
The Chinese sailors also damaged the Filipino boats and attacked the sailors with machetes and other equipment, wounding several Filipino sailors, including one who lost his thumb.
The U.S., which has a defense treaty with the Philippines that obliges Washington to defend its ally, earlier this week slammed China for the “aggressive” action.
Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said the Chinese aggression was “barbaric” and aimed at preventing a “legitimate and humanitarian resupply mission.”
“These provocative, unprofessional, and inhumane actions of China, if left unchecked, will not just be a loss for our fight in the West Philippine Sea,” he wrote on the social platform X Wednesday. “They serve as a clear indication that humanity has once again allowed barbarism to trample upon compassion, and that what is right is only defined by might.”
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian accused the Philippines of violating international law by intruding into their territory in the South China Sea, a body of water that Beijing claims almost entirely for its own.
“This is sheer provocation and has no justification whatsoever,” Lin said at a Thursday press conference. “What is more, this operation of the Philippines is absolutely not about humanitarian resupply. The Philippine vessels secretly carried construction materials and even weapons and equipment, and they deliberately rammed Chinese vessels.
“The Philippine side threw water and hurled objects to Chinese enforcement personnel. These acts clearly escalated tensions at sea, and severely threatened the safety of Chinese personnel and vessels,” he added. “The Chinese side took necessary measures in accordance with law to safeguard its sovereignty, which was lawful and justified, and done in a professional and restrained manner. It was beyond reproach.”
The incident was the latest battling between China and the Philippines at Second Thomas Shoal, which Beijing claims as part of its own territory.
Since last year, the conflict has escalated, with Chinese and Filipino boats colliding and China sometimes spraying water cannons.