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Chinese coast guard safeguards sovereignty as Philippine boats trespass Chinese waters: FM

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Nov 18, 2021 06:10 PM

Two Philippine supply boats trespassed waters near China's Ren'ai Jiao without China's permission, and Chinese coast guard ships carried out their duty in accordance with the law to safeguard China's sovereignty and maintain maritime order, said a spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The comments came after the Philippines' top diplomat complained that Chinese coast guard ships used water cannons on two Philippine supply boats.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said no one was hurt in the incident on Tuesday, but the two supply ships had to abort their mission to provide food to Filipino forces.

Locsin said in a tweet that the three Chinese coast guard ships' actions were illegal and he urged them "to take heed and back off."

In response, Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the two Philippine supply ships were trespassing Chinese waters, and Chinese coast guard ships took the action to safeguard the country's sovereignty.

The situation near Ren'ai Jiao is peaceful. China and the Philippines are negotiating the matter, said Zhao.

Chen Xiangmiao, deputy director of the Research Center for Marine Science at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, attributed the Philippines' recent criticism of China partly to the country's ongoing presidential election.

"Philippine politicians tend to play hard-nosed and hype the South China Sea issue during the election season, mainly to cater to domestic hawks," said Chen. "It is Duterte's response to the country's opposition parties, and pro-American forces."

Reuters reported on Tuesday that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will not be going toe-to-toe with his daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio for the vice-presidency in next year's election after all. Instead, he will be running for senator.

Chen said the US is another factor behind the Philippines' dispute with China, as the warning from the Philippine government stated its vessels are covered under a mutual defense treaty with the US.

To besiege China in the Asia-Pacific region, the US will gradually upgrade its cooperation with its long-term defense ally, the Philippines, said Chen, noting that there's also something to gain for the Philippines under the shade of American defense umbrella.

"Especially when it sees the Biden administration is clearly more interested in uniting allies than the previous administration," he added.

The Philippines is among the few countries in ASEAN to support the newly formed Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) alliance. In a statement in October, the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs quoted Acting Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs Theresa Lazaro as saying that the Philippines "sees value in the enhancement of a neighbor's capability to project power."

Chen noted that the Philippines' tendency to stand closer to the US on defense will continue even after the election, but it is unlikely for it to stick to the US side to counter China. "All promising candidates of the next presidential election are pragmatic figures. It is unlikely for them to cooperate with Washington's Indo-Pacific policies at the price of economic benefits, which they gained from cooperating with China," said Chen.