5 days ago
Chinese Patrol Ships Surround Islands of US Treaty Ally
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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Three Chinese coast guard vessels have deployed to a strategic waterway in the South China Sea that separates the Philippines from Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory—adding to rising regional tensions.
Newsweek contacted the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Philippine coast guard with requests for comment.
Why It Matters
The Philippines, a U.S. defense treaty ally, and China are locked in a yearslong territorial dispute. Beijing asserts sovereignty over most of the South China Sea—a conduit for an estimated one-third of global seaborne trade—citing so-called historical rights.
Manila has in recent years stepped up its pushback against Chinese coast guard incursions into the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, leading to occasional dramatic clashes at contested features such as Scarborough Shoal.
What To Know
On Thursday, three Chinese coast guard cutters—each at least 330 feet in length—"bracketed" the Philippines' northernmost province of Batanes, according to ship-tracking data shared by maritime analyst Ray Powell.
Powell, who heads the Stanford University-affiliated maritime analysis group SeaLight, described the maneuvers as "a new level of aggression" from Beijing.
As of Friday morning, two of the ships were operating east of the island group, while the third remained in waters to the west.
It is rare for Chinese coast guard ships to operate this far north. The Batanes are closer to southern Taiwan than to Manila and are situated in the Bashi Channel—a strategic choke point that would almost certainly come into play in a war with China.
In April, the U.S. and Philippine militaries held joint drills there with the NMESIS anti-ship missile system, drawing protests from Beijing.
China's maneuvers came a day after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., during a four-day state visit to New Delhi, vowed not to "cede one square inch" of territory to Beijing.
The Philippine coast guard deployed a patrol aircraft to monitor the Chinese vessels because of what it called their "irregular movements," but poor weather limited the mission to challenging only the cutter west of Batanes, agency spokesperson Jay Tarriela said.
He also said the ship ignored radio calls. "The leadership of the [Philippine coast guard] remains resolute and is prepared to deploy additional resources should the [China coast guard] vessels continue their presence or approach closer to the Batanes coastline," Tarriela wrote on X on Friday.
U.S. Marines with 3d Littoral Combat Team, 3d Marine Littoral Regiment and 3d Marine Division conduct a notional fire mission with the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System during the Maritime Key Terrain Security Operation as...
U.S. Marines with 3d Littoral Combat Team, 3d Marine Littoral Regiment and 3d Marine Division conduct a notional fire mission with the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System during the Maritime Key Terrain Security Operation as a part of Exercise KAMANDAG 9 in the Philippines, on May 27. More
Cpl. Malia Sparks/U.S. Marine Corps
What People Are Saying
Jiang Bin, a spokesperson for China's Defense Ministry, said during Friday's news briefing of this week's joint Philippine-Indian naval drills: "We demand that the Philippines stop provoking and hype, stop forming cliques and making waves in the South China Sea, and return to the right track of managing differences through dialogue and consultation."
Ray Powell, the director of SeaLight, wrote on X: "This is the first time I've observed this behavior from the China Coast Guard. While the CCG has been much more active in the West Philippine Sea, this marks the first I've seen it extend its intrusive patrols east of the Philippines."
The West Philippine Sea is Manila's term for the parts of the South China Sea lying within its maritime zone.
What Happens Next
During his interview with Indian media, Marcos also said there was "no way" the Philippines could avoid being drawn into a war between its U.S. ally and China over Taiwan, citing its proximity and the more than 160,000 Filipinos working there.
China's Foreign Ministry issued a sharp rebuke over the remarks, saying it had lodged protests with Manila and stressing that "geographic location" and the "large volume of Filipinos" in Taiwan should not be used as pretexts to interfere in the "internal and sovereign affairs of other countries."
China claims Taiwan as its territory, though Beijing's government—which the Chinese Communist Party leads—has never ruled there. China has vowed to unite with the island democracy, through force if necessary.
Chinese maritime activities—including oceanographic surveys and coast guard patrols in disputed areas—are likely to remain a point of friction in the South China Sea.
