China’s actions in West Philippine Sea inconsistent with Marcos-Xi policy – DFA

This frame grab from handout video taken on June 17, 2024 and released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines Public Affairs Office on June 19 shows China coast guard boats (L) approaching Philippine boats (C) during an incident off Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. The Philippine military said on June 19 the Chinese coast guard rammed and boarded Filipino navy boats in a violent confrontation in the South China Sea this week in which a Filipino sailor lost a thumb. China defended its actions, with its foreign ministry saying on Wednesday that “no direct measures” were taken against Filipino personnel. Agence France-Presse

MANILA, Philippines — China’s aggressive behavior near Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on June 17 is inconsistent with the agreed policy of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo.

At a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Manalo said the Philippine government – through the DFA  – immediately approached the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy following the latest incident in the West Philippine Sea.

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“We sternly communicated to our counterparts that it was really incomprehensible how the delivery of basic necessities to our troops on the [BRP] Sierra Madre could be considered a provocation that would justify an increased level of Chinese actions and so, therefore, we believe their actions only intensified and escalated tensions and certainly, something we should be concerned about,” the DFA secretary said.

“And while we have a policy, still, as agreed by President Marcos and President Xi Jinping, that [our] government should seek to manage our maritime differences and not let incidents define our bilateral relations, it’s clear that many of these recent incidents by China are inconsistent with this declared intention,” he added.

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Manalo, however, noted that the Philippines still believes that primacy of dialogue and diplomacy should nevertheless prevail in the face of “serious incidents.”

China’s continued aggression within Philippine waters comes from its belief that it owns almost the entire South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, even if a July 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling already invalidated such a claim.