Beijing and Manila Trade Accusations After Latest South China Sea Clash
China and the Philippines are trading accusations of aggression after a fresh clash around the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on Monday.
South China Sea Standoff: China and the Philippines Clash
REPORTER:
A fresh showdown between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. In this Chinese footage, Philippine sailors in rubber dinghies challenge a Chinese coast guard boat off the disputed Second Thomas Shoal. China says the Philippine vessels were behaving aggressively.
REPORTER:
But this footage released by the Philippines tells a different story: Chinese coast guard personnel attacking the Philippine sailors with blunt weapons not far from where the Philippines maintains a garrison outpost on the shoal. Manila says one of its sailors was struck with a baton. Both sides blame the other for Monday’s clash.
REPORTER:
China has kept up pressure on the Philippines here in the South China Sea, which it claims almost in its entirety. Beijing rejects an international ruling a decade ago in the Philippines’ favor—and skirmishes like this one are the result.
REPORTER:
On the surface, it may seem like the timing of this clash could be significant. Relations between the two countries are tense, with a war of words—and more, including a caricature of the Philippines in China’s state media that Manila says is racist.
REPORTER:
The Philippines has just marked ten years since the international arbitration in its favor.
REPORTER:
And Manila is just about to hold an international foreign ministers’ meeting that China’s foreign minister Wang Yi, among others, will attend. But some analysts see all this as coincidence, part of an ebb and flow in tensions over many years that’s unlikely to lead to a major escalation.
REPORTER:
They say even the potential impact on US-China relations could be limited: the US State Department condemned China’s role in this clash, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio could still meet with China’s Wang Yi on the sidelines in Manila.
Ian Chong (NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE):
There may be an exchange of angry words but unless there is further accumulation of events and potentially further escalation, if things get more tense, then perhaps it could become an issue. But for right now, I'm guessing that there could be some sharp words exchanged, but nothing really beyond that.
REPORTER:
Taiwan has its own claims in the South China Sea, including over Second Thomas Shoal. The foreign ministry has condemned China’s use of violence and urged both sides to exercise restraint and respect international law.
Hsiao Kuang-wei (FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON):
In this matter, we urge the countries involved
to uphold regional peace and stability
and the international maritime order
based on international law
and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
REPORTER:
With Beijing’s rejection of the ruling on its maritime claims, though, “peace and stability” may continue to be relative terms in these contested waters.
