MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday expressed deep concern over China's dangerous actions against Philippine boats conducting a resupply mission, but stressed that the incident does not warrant invoking the country’s Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with the United States.
Marcos said the latest clash between Manila and Beijing in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is “not the time or reason” to invoke the 1951 treaty between the Philippines and the United States.
“However, we continue to view with great alarm this continuing dangerous maneuvers and dangerous actions that are being done against our seamen, our Coast Guard,” the president said.
Under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, the Philippines and the US agreed that an attack on one of them would be considered a threat to both and pledged to respond jointly.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller affirmed on Wednesday that the MDT “extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft—including those of its Coast Guard—anywhere in the South China Sea.”
Miller also condemned China’s actions as “provocative.”
The National Task Force for WPS reported on Tuesday that the China Coast Guard (CCG) and Chinese maritime militia vessels “harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed maneuvers in another attempt to illegally impede or obstruct” a resupply mission to troops stationed at BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.
The Philippines said that CCG ships collided with patrol vessel BRP Sindangan and supply boat Unaizah May 4. The collision resulted in minor structural damage to BRP Sindangan.
Four crew members on board the Unaizah May 4 sustained minor injuries when two CCG ships simultaneously fired water cannons at the supply boat, shattering the windshield.
Only Unaizah May 1 was able to deliver provisions to troops stationed at the grounded warship in Ayungin.
“This time, they damaged the cargo ship and caused some injury to some of our seamen and I think that we cannot view this any way but in the most serious way,” Marcos said.
“Once again, we will make our objections known and hope that we can continue to communicate to find a way so that such actions are no longer seen in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.
The Philippines summoned Zhou Zhiyong, China’s deputy chief of mission in Manila, on Tuesday to protest the CCG’s “aggressive actions.” The government also ordered the Chinese vessels to leave the vicinity of Ayungin.
‘Stirring up trouble’
Jonathan Malaya, spokesperson of the NTF-WPS, accused China of “deliberately stirring up trouble and maliciously inciting hype.”
“We demand that they match their words with actions in order to manage the disputes properly. They must first stop their harassment and bullying of legitimate Philippine operations,” Malaya said in a briefing on Wednesday.
He added that the waterway was “wide enough” for both nations to peacefully co-exist.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Wednesday accused the United States of using the Philippines as a “pawn” in the tense waterway.
China asserts sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, despite the international court ruling that deemed its stance to have no legal basis.
Relations between Manila and Beijing have deteriorated under Marcos as he improves ties with traditional ally Washington and pushes back against Chinese actions in the West Philippine Sea.
In contrast, his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte pursued a foreign policy shift toward China in exchange for investment pledges. — with report from Agence France-Presse