China Fires Warning at US Treaty Ally
China has fired a warning shot at the Philippines following a close naval encounter with the U.S. defense treaty ally earlier this week near a contested feature in the South China Sea.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry by email with a request for comment.
China claims most of the South China Sea as its territory-putting it at odds with the Philippines, Vietnam, and several other neighbors with competing claims. Video released by the Philippines shows a pair of Chinese navy frigates on Monday carrying out what Manila called "high-risk" maneuvers as they intercepted a Philippine corvette near Scarborough Shoal.
The traditional fishing ground, known in the Philippines as Bajo de Masinloc and in China as Huangyan Island, lies within the Southeast Asian country's exclusive economic zone and has been the site of tense face-offs between Chinese and Philippine government forces.
During the Chinese Defense Ministry's regular press briefing Thursday, newly appointed spokesperson Jiang Bin said a Philippine warship had attempted to "intrude" into China's territorial waters.
He said it was the Philippine side that had approached in a "dangerous manner," "seriously threatening China's sovereignty and security" and that Chinese forces had taken "necessary measures to block and drive it away."
"We urge the Philippine side to stop all dangerous acts of infringement and provocation, and to refrain from challenging China's firm resolve to safeguard its national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests-otherwise, it will only bring harm upon itself," Jiang said.
China's maritime forces seized effective control over the uninhabited atoll after a 2012 standoff with the Philippines.
The feature was addressed in a 2016 ruling by an international arbitral tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, that largely dismissed China's South China Sea claims. The Chinese refused to participate in the proceedings and maintain the decision is illegitimate.
Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, a Philippine Armed Forces spokesperson, told Newsweek: "Bajo de Masinloc is a high-tide elevation with a territorial sea. It is part of the Philippine territory, and we have sovereignty over it.
"We have regular maritime and air patrols to Bajo de Masinloc and will keep conducting these patrols in furtherance of our mandate. The Chinese Communist Party's claim has no basis in international law with the 2016 ruling of the Arbitral Tribunal reinforcing the Philippines' stand."
China is expected to continue pressing its territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has vowed not to cede "one square inch" of Manila-claimed waters. He is expected to continue his administration's efforts to modernize the Philippine military and bolster security ties with the U.S. and regional partners such as Japan and Australia.
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