Tensions have risen again between the Chinese and Philippine coast guards in the disputed region of the South China Sea.
The moment when two ships collided and the Chinese ship intervened with pressurized water was caught on camera.
The time bomb of the Philippines' BRP Sierra Madre is ticking down to zero
- Thread starter Bogeyman
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Tensions have risen again between the Chinese and Philippine coast guards in the disputed region of the South China Sea.
The moment when two ships collided and the Chinese ship intervened with pressurized water was caught on camera.
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Tried to damage the equipments, the radar spin lel.
NSC weighs in on China floating nuclear reactors
It will be a threat to Philippine national security if China pushes through with its reported plan to use floating nuclear power plants in the South China Sea, a national security official said yesterday.
National Security Council assistant director general Jonathan Malaya, in an interview with “Storycon” on One News, said the nuclear power plants – if installed – would be used to power military bases located on artificial islands that China built, including those within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
The reported plan is something the Philippines dreads as it would further militarize the artificial islands, he added.
“These militarized features in the West Philippine Sea are actually artificial islands and some of them are within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines… It is not in our interest that they are doing this. They are, in effect, further militarizing the islands,” Malaya said.
“These features are primarily military bases. Anything that supports their military presence in those islands is technically a threat to our national security and against our interests,” he added.
Last week, the Washington Post reported about China’s plan to use floating nuclear reactors to power the military bases it built on reclaimed lands.
It cited the concern raised by US Indo-Pacific Command Adm. John Aquilino, who retired from the US Navy last Friday, and an unidentified senior official from the US State Department.
“China’s intended use of floating nuclear power plants has potential impacts to all nations in the region,” Aquilino was quoted as saying in the Washington Post report.
“Chinese state media has stated publicly Beijing’s intent to use them to strengthen its military control of the South China Sea, further exerting their unlawful territorial claims. China’s claim of sovereignty of the entire South China Sea has no basis in international law and is destabilizing the entire region,” he added.
China has not responded to the report, although it was reported last year that it had supposedly suspended its plan to build floating nuclear reactors.
Also in the interview, Malaya said China should not see the Philippines’ activities as provocation, noting that the Balikatan exercises are a way for the country’s military to improve its capabilities.
He also confirmed plans of the Philippines and the US, along with countries such as Australia, to conduct joint patrols in the South China Sea.
“That is already a given,” he said.
A joint resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal, however, is a different matter, noting that bringing in a foreign military to undertake a Philippine operation may be seen as “escalating the ante.”
“That’s under discussion by both parties,” said Malaya, noting that the current resupply missions are undertaken “100 percent” by the Philippines.
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Well, China is doing the right thing for its own interests. Philippines actually needed to do similar on island they claim and expand the islets to have bigger impact. But due to it's economic woes it can not do so and US as hell ain't going to help with that part.
I doubt they'd even finance it.
I doubt they'd even finance it.
Pentagon on China’s “very concerning” attack @ Ayungin Shoal in Philippine territory “This kind of behavior is provocative. It’s reckless. It’s unnecessary. & it could lead to something bigger & more violent”
A significant escalation — everything you need to know
• Chinese Coast Guard & Maritime Militia employed the “dangerous & deliberate use of water cannons, ramming, & blocking”
• 8 Filipinos injured, including one who lost a thumb, near Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal
• Collided, boarded, searched, & seized multiple Philippine boats, & confiscated firearms
• Disrupted the mission & prevented resupply
• Established & enforcing a de facto blockade
• Beijing wasted no time weaponizing a recently enacted law that allows the CCG to detain “trespassers” by force & without trial, anywhere within its vast claims across the SCS
• 3rd incident since March where Philippine personnel have been injured by Chinese forces
• Will Beijing try to normalize this hostile behavior?
“This is the third instance of Philippine personnel getting injured by Chinese forces in their missions to resupply the Marine outpost at Second Thomas Shoal. The South China Sea feature has been the site of numerous incidents between China and the Philippines. These encounters have since escalated to include the injury of Philippine personnel, with the first reported incident injuring four sailors during a March resupply mission.”
More Context to Yesterday’s Chinese Provocations
On June 15th a new Chinese Coast Guard regulation (#3) took effect that allows it to detain foreigners it apprehends in waters under its jurisdiction. Given China’s claims to the entirety of the South China Sea - this would apply to Second Thomas Shoal where tensions are running high with the Philippines.
This comes after a 2021 law authorized lethal force by Chinese Coast Guard against foreign vessels:
A war is gradually coming to the Philippines.
In May, Philippine president Fredinand Marcos said that the death of any Filipino during operations in the South China Sea would “cross a red line,” USNI reported. “If a Filipino citizen was killed by a wilful act, that is very close to what we define as an act of war,” Marcos said in May during the Shagri-La dialouge. “We would have crossed the Rubicon. Is that a red line? Almost certainly.”
“There is fear that territorial disputes in the South China Sea, long regarded as an Asian flashpoint, could escalate and pit the United States and China in a larger conflict.”
“There is fear that territorial disputes in the South China Sea, long regarded as an Asian flashpoint, could escalate and pit the United States and China in a larger conflict.”
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Like I said, Nothing will change unless you mark your claim with absolute force. A vessel that is rusting away and trying to supply is isn't fucking going to change a goddamn thing.
Mark your claim, by building, expanding and investing in the shoals. And back it up with whatever Naval Force you can.
Philippines need to be more aggressive, but lack the means to do so. But they could get help from their allies.
Shocking new details & video shows China’s “brutal assault” on the Philippines
- Chinese Coast Guard deployed tear gas
- “In a brazen act of aggression, Filipino troops valiantly fought back & defended their position”
- CCG employed physical attacks, bladed weapons, blaring sirens, & blinding strobe lights
- Threatened Philippine soldiers with axes, knives, & bolos, & began hurling rocks & other objects
- “In an act of piracy, CCG personnel proceeded to loot supplies & pilfer equipment”
- Violently attached ropes to tow Philippine boats & slashed RHIBs, rendering them inoperable
Japan, Philippines sign defence pact with eyes on China
Japan and the Philippines have signed a defence pact allowing the deployment of troops on each other’s soil amid shared concerns over China’s growing military power.
Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa and Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement on Monday during a ceremony in Manila.
Under the agreement, Japanese forces will be able to deploy in the Philippines for joint military exercises and Filipino forces will be able to carry out combat training in Japan.
The pact will need to be ratified by both countries’ legislatures to come into effect.
The agreement comes as Japan and the Philippines, both long-standing allies of the United States, are wary of China’s growing assertiveness in the region.
Beijing has laid claim to more than 90 percent of the South China Sea, including waters that lie within the exclusive economic zones of the Philippines and four other Southeast Asian countries.
An international tribunal at the Hague in 2016 found that Beijing’s claims had “no legal basis”.
China and the Philippines’s coast guards and navies have been involved in numerous confrontations in the disputed waters, including an incident last month during which Chinese coast guard personnel wielding knives and spears used motorboats to ram two Philippine navy supply vessels.
Japan has a longstanding territorial dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands located between Taiwan and Okinawa.
Under Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Tokyo has sought to boost its military firepower, including through reciprocal access agreements with Australia and the United Kingdom.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has forcefully denounced China’s actions in the South China Sea and warned that his country would consider the death of any Filipino at its hands as close to “an act of war”.
Manila has longstanding defence pacts with Australia and the US and is exploring a similar agreement with France.
In April, the leaders of the US, Japan, and the Philippines held their first trilateral summit in Washington, DC as part of efforts to boost military cooperation between the sides.
The summit came on the heels of joint military drills in the South China Sea that also included Australia.
Japan, Philippines sign defence pact with eyes on China
Agreement comes as Manila and Tokyo share concerns about Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the region.
China and the Philippines reach deal in effort to stop clashes at fiercely disputed shoal
China and the Philippines reached a deal they hope will end confrontations at the most fiercely disputed shoal in the South China Sea, the Philippine government said Sunday.
The Philippines occupies Second Thomas Shoal but China also claims it, and increasingly hostile clashes at sea have sparked fears of larger conflicts that could involve the United States.
The crucial deal was reached on Sunday, after a series of meetings between Philippine and Chinese diplomats in Manila and exchanges of diplomatic notes that aimed to establish a mutually acceptable arrangement at the shoal without conceding either side’s territorial claims.
Two Philippine officials, who have knowledge of the negotiations, confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity and the government later issued a brief statement announcing the deal without providing details.
“Both sides continue to recognize the need to deescalate the situation in the South China Sea and manage differences through dialogue and consultation and agree that the agreement will not prejudice each other’s positions in the South China Sea,” the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said.
Neither side has yet released the text of the agreement.
China has disputes with several governments over land and sea borders, many of them in the South China Sea, and the rare deal with the Philippines could spark hope that similar arrangements could be forged by Beijing with other rival countries to avoid clashes while thorny territorial issues remain unresolved. It remains to be seen, however, if the deal could be implemented successfully and how long it will last.
Chinese coast guard and other forces have used powerful water cannons and dangerous blocking maneuvers to prevent food and other supplies from reaching Filipino navy personnel at Manila’s outpost at the shoal.
The yearslong territorial standoff at the shoal has flared repeatedly since last year between Chinese coast guard, navy and suspected militia ships and Philippine coast guard-escorted navy boats transporting food, water and fresh navy and marine personnel to an outpost on a long-grounded and rusting warship, the BRP Sierra Madre.
In the worst confrontation, Chinese forces on motorboats repeatedly rammed and then boarded two Philippine navy boats on June 17 to prevent Filipino personnel from transferring food and other supplies including firearms to the ship outpost in the shallows of the shoal, according to the Philippine government.
After repeated ramming, the Chinese seized the Philippine navy boats and damaged them with machetes and improvised spears. They also seized seven M4 rifles, which were packed in cases, and other supplies. The violent faceoff wounded several Filipino navy personnel, including one who lost his thumb, in a chaotic skirmish that was captured in video and photos that were later made public by Philippine officials.
China and the Philippines blamed each other for the confrontation and each asserted their own sovereign rights over the shoal, which Filipinos call Ayungin and the Chinese call Ren’ai Jiao.
The United States and its key Asian and Western allies, including Japan and Australia, condemned the Chinese acts at the shoal and called for the rule of law and freedom of navigation to be upheld in the South China Sea, a key global trade route with rich fishing areas and undersea gas deposits.
In addition to China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have been locked in separate but increasingly tense territorial disputes in the waterway, which is regarded as a potential flashpoint and a delicate fault line in the U.S.-China regional rivalry. The U.S. military has deployed navy ships and fighter jets for decades in what it calls freedom of navigation and overflight patrols, which China has opposed and regards as a threat to regional stability.
Washington has no territorial claims in the disputed waters but has repeatedly warned that it is obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.
One of the two Philippine officials said the June 17 confrontation prompted Beijing and Manila to hasten on-and-off talks on an arrangement that would prevent confrontations at Second Thomas Shoal.
During final meetings in the last four days, two Chinese demands that had been key sticking points were removed from the draft deal.
China had previously said it would allow food, water and other basic supplies to be transported by the Philippines to its forces in the shoal if Manila agreed not to bring construction materials to fortify the crumbling ship, and to give China advance notice and the right to inspect the ships for those materials, the officials said.
The Philippines rejected those conditions, and the final deal did not include them, according to the Philippine official.
China and the Philippines reach deal in effort to stop clashes at fiercely disputed shoal
The Philippines occupies Second Thomas Shoal but China also claims it, and increasingly hostile clashes at sea have sparked fears of larger conflicts that could involve the United States.
apnews.com
