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Liu Zhen

Orange Wang

Fresh tensions flared near a disputed South China Sea shoal on Thursday, a day after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned his Philippine counterpart of “bitter consequences” if Manila provoked Beijing with outside backing.
China’s coastguard said it drove away two Philippine government vessels near Scarborough Shoal after the ships “ignored repeated Chinese warnings and deliberately entered waters under China’s jurisdiction”.
The Chinese coastguard took “necessary measures in accordance with the law” to “expel” them, coastguard spokesman Jiang Lue said.
The latest stand-off comes a day after Wang warned his Philippine counterpart on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers’ meeting in Manila that the Philippines would “bear the bitter consequences” if it tried to provoke Beijing with the help of other countries.
During their talks, Wang lodged a “strong protest” with Theresa Lazaro, the Philippines’ top diplomat, over what he called an “aggressive act of ramming a Chinese law enforcement vessel” at another disputed reef in the South China Sea on Monday.
It was the third day Beijing had protested over the confrontation at Second Thomas Shoal, which involved a Chinese coastguard vessel and two Philippine Navy rubber dinghies.


Relations have been tense between Beijing and Manila in recent years, with frequent clashes in disputed waters of the South China Sea.
Beijing has also been on high alert as Manila has sought closer defence and security ties with Washington and Tokyo. The Philippines is considered a vital link in the “first island chain” that the United States sees as a way to contain Chinese naval expansion.

Wang was absent on Thursday from a gathering of top diplomats from the Asean members along with China, Japan and South Korea.
He was represented by vice-minister Hua Chunying “due to scheduling reasons”, according to foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian.
Hours after the Chinese coastguard statement, Jay Tarriela, spokesman for the Philippine Coast Guard, posted videos on social media and accused the China Coast Guard of “illegal, coercive and aggressive actions”.
The Philippine vessels were distributing fuel and food packs to Filipino fishermen at the time of the incident, he added.
According to Tarriela, a Chinese coastguard ship fired a water cannon at a vessel operated by the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. The blast continued for more than two minutes, scoring an indirect hit, he said.

As of Thursday morning, eight Philippine vessels remained in the waters around Scarborough Shoal “to continue the operation” against 10 Chinese vessels being monitored in the area, Tarriela added.
The triangular-shaped reef formation around a lagoon, known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines, has been one of the key flashpoints in simmering maritime tensions between the two rival claimants over the past three years.
In Wednesday’s meeting, Wang said bilateral relations were at a crossroads and “where to go from here requires the Philippine side to make a correct and rational choice”, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
“Over the past few years, China-Philippines relations have continued to face difficulties and challenges,” Wang said, adding that Manila’s actions were “a source of disruption to regional peace and stability”.
“Facts have proven that allowing external forces to interfere, and deliberately hyping up to escalate maritime differences, will only turn oneself into a tool for others.
“Attempting to provoke and cause trouble with the help of countries outside the region will ultimately [mean that the Philippines will] have to bear the bitter consequences of its own actions.
“Regrettably, whenever China and the Philippines are about to engage in dialogue, certain forces in the Philippines – particularly some in the military and law enforcement agencies – deliberately create incidents to undermine its progress.
“These individuals do not have the well-being of the Filipino people at heart. Instead, they are carrying out the agenda of external forces while pursuing their own personal gains.”
Wang said China had never been a security threat to the Philippines, “nor has it ever invaded or colonised the Philippines”.
He called for dialogue to address their maritime disputes and urged Manila to make a “correct and sensible choice” to stabilise ties.


Monday’s confrontation took place at the highly contested Second Thomas Shoal – a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands known as Renai Jiao in China and Ayungin Shoal in the Philippines.
China’s coastguard said the Philippine boats from the BRP Sierra Madre approached its vessel “in a dangerous manner” and that Philippine personnel attacked Chinese officers “using tools such as oars and long sticks”.
The Philippines said it launched the rubber dinghies after the Chinese coastguard “unlawfully” approached the Sierra Madre. The Chinese personnel injured one of the Philippine servicemen by hitting him in the head with a wooden baton.
The Philippine Navy deliberately grounded the retired Sierra Madre warship on Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 and has since stationed a small number of sailors there. In recent years, there have been repeated confrontations between China and the Philippines over resupply missions to the ship.
The tensions have been aggravated by a state-run Chinese newspaper posting an AI-generated video on July 10 that depicted Filipinos as monkeys, causing outrage in the Philippines.
On Tuesday, Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan denied the government had anything to do with the video.
“It’s just the media’s action and it’s nothing related to government – there are so many media in China,” Jing said, adding that the government could not control the content of every media outlet.
The video was posted by China Daily, an English-language newspaper run by the Communist Party’s publicity department.
The one-minute animated clip features a monkey wearing a traditional Filipino shirt. The monkey is pushed by arms bearing US and Japanese flags onto a boat where it pulls out a sheet that reads “South China Sea arbitration award” before being thrown into the sea.
The Philippine embassy in Beijing published an open letter to China Daily condemning the portrayal as “blatantly demeaning, dehumanising and racist”.
China’s foreign ministry said last Friday that the video did not represent the official position and declined to comment.


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Philippine Foreign Minister Theresa Lazaro meets her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Asean meeting in Manila on Wednesday, the day before the latest encounter in the South China Sea. Photo: EPA

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China

Diplomacy

Coastguard encounter follows warning to Manila counterpart of ‘bitter consequences’ if it enlists outside backing in dispute


Coastguard encounter follows warning to Manila counterpart of ‘bitter consequences’ if it enlists outside backing in dispute.


China-Philippines relations

The Philippines

Wang Yi

Maria Theresa Lazaro

China, Philippines clash again at Scarborough Shoal, a day after Wang Yi warning

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Coastguard encounter follows warning to Manila counterpart of ‘bitter consequences’ if it enlists outside backing in dispute

Coastguard encounter follows warning to Manila counterpart of ‘bitter consequences’ if it enlists outside backing in dispute