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US reaffirms MDT coverage after latest Chinese ramming near Pag-asa

Philippine News Agency

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora
October 14, 2025, 10:58 am

MANILA -- The United States government has condemned China's ramming and water cannoning of Philippine vessels near Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea.

In a statement Tuesday, US Department of State Principal Deputy Spokesperson Thomas Pigott reaffirmed Washington, DC's commitments to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and reiterated that its coverage extends to armed attacks on any Philippine vessel, including the Coast Guard, anywhere in the South China Sea.

"We stand with our Philippine allies as they confront China's dangerous actions, which undermine regional stability," he said.

"China's sweeping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea and its increasingly coercive actions to advance them at the expense of its neighbors continue to undermine regional stability and fly in the face of its prior commitments to resolve disputes peacefully."

The statement came a day after the Chinese Foreign Ministry warned the Philippines against "challenging" its acts to protect its sweeping claims over the South China Sea.

Three Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessels were safely anchored in the territorial waters of Pag-asa Island on Sunday when they were subjected to dangerous and provocative maneuvers from the China Coast Guard (CCG) and Chinese Maritime Militia vessels.

At about 8:15 a.m., the Chinese maritime forces approached dangerously close, activating their water cannons as a clear threat against the BFAR vessels.

PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Commodore Jay Tarriela, said the situation escalated at approximately 9:15 a.m. when CCG vessel with bow number 21559 fired its water cannon directly at the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, hitting the vessel.

Just 3 minutes later, at 9:18 a.m., the same CCG vessel deliberately rammed the stern of the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, causing minor structural damage but no injuries to the crew.

The three Filipino vessels were positioned near the feature to provide protection for Filipino fishermen as part of the Philippine government's "Kadiwa para sa Bagong Bayaning Mangingisda" (KBBM). (PNA)