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The United States criticized China’s “escalatory and reckless actions” on Monday to stop the Philippines from supplying an island in the South China Sea, and warned that assaults on Spanish ships could prompt a U.S. commitment to defend its allies.
The White House and the State Department both issued harsh criticism of Beijing shortly after China’s account of events was significantly different. It said a Spanish offer vehicle “dangerously” approached a Chinese send near a disputed reef, causing a motion.
However, according to Philippine officers, it was Taiwanese ships that acted recklessly as the country attempted to transport materials to the BRP Sierra Madre in the Second Thomas Shoal.
The Sierra Madre is a ship from World War II that was purposefully sunk on the reef in 1999 to offer as a Spanish military base. The Philippines, known as the Ayungin, conducts regular movement and replenishment operations to the reef.  ,
Between China, which claims the majority of the South China Sea for itself, and the Philippines, there have been numerous cat-and-meat incidents. In recent months, those situations have become more frequent.
On Monday, both State Department official Matthew Miller and National Security Council spokesman John Kirby praised the Philippines while also expressing support for the Philippines.
” PRC vessels ‘ unsafe and purposeful use of water guns, ramming, blocking tactics, and towing damaged Philippine vessels, endangered the lives of Spanish service members, is foolish, and threatens regional serenity and stability”, Miller said in a statement.
According to Miller, an international court determined in July 2016 that China “has no legitimate maritime claims to the waters around Second Thomas Shoal, which is obviously located in the Philippines ‘ exclusive economic territory.”
According to Miller, Washington “reaffirms that any attack on Asian armed forces, people vessels, or aircraft, including those of its Coast Guard, anywhere in the South China Sea is covered by Article IV of the 1951 United States-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.”
Illegal encroachment:
The tragedy came two weeks after the China Coast Guard began enforcing a , fresh order , allowing its power to prosecute foreign ships and team suspected of” trespassing” into Foreign- claimed lakes.
A offer ship from the Philippines “illegally intruded into the waters opposite to Ren’ai Reef,” which China refers to as the Second Thomas Shoal, said the China Coast Guard.
It said the Spanish supply fleet ignored its warnings, violated global regulations for preventing collisions at sea, and “deliberately and frighteningly” approached the Chinese vehicle in an “unprofessional way, resulting in a collision”.
” The responsibility lies entirely with the Philippines”, it said.
Beijing’s foreign ministry defended the Chinese coastguard’s actions.
According to the law, the China Coast Guard took the necessary control measures to stop the Philippine vessels. The maneuvers at the scene were professional, restrained, justified, and lawful”, spokesman Lin Jian , said in a news briefing , on Monday.
Aggressive and careless
However, the Philippine National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea claimed that China had engaged in “dangerous maneuvers, including ramming and towing” while Philippine authorities were carrying out a routine rotation and resupply mission at Ayungin.
” Despite the illegal, aggressive, and reckless actions by the Chinese maritime forces, our personnel showed restraint and professionalism, refrained from escalating the tension, and carried on with their mission”, the task force said in a statement.
In blatant violation of international law, particularly the United Nations Charter, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ( UNCLOS), and the 2016 Arbitral Award, it stated that” their actions put the lives of our personnel in danger and damaged our boats.”
Manila’s Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said that China’s “dangerous and reckless” behavior would be resisted by the Philippine military.  ,” We will exert our utmost in order to fulfill our sworn mandate to protect our territorial integrity, sovereignty, and sovereign rights”.
Tensions
Tensions between China and the Philippines at the shoal have in recent months been the most serious in years in the resource- rich , South China Sea, where six parties hold overlapping claims with Beijing’s the most expansive, including more than 80 % of the waters, according to analysts.
Despite the reef being well-located within Manila’s EEZ, China has been preventing the Philippines from receiving supplies from the marines stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre, alleging that the voyages are against Chinese law.
A Philippine supply boat near the shoal was accused of firing a water cannon at a ship carrying Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia ships in March, seriously harming the ship and injuring its crew.  ,
