A Spanish security official said on Tuesday that as a result of the escalating aggression in the contested South China Sea, China is “pushing us to the wall,” and that” all options are on the table” for Manila’s response, including new foreign lawsuits.
A large Chinese coast guard ship sailed toward the Philippines ‘ northwestern coast on Tuesday, coming as close as 77 nautical miles ( 143 kilometers ), according to Philippine officials in a press conference. It had recently been patrolled the hotly disputed Scarborough Shoal.
” The presence of the dragon fleet in Filipino waters… 77 nautical miles from our shore, is unethical and, therefore, it should be withdrawn immediately by the Chinese state”, Jonathan Malaya, associate director-general of the National Security Council, said at the media meeting alongside senior military and coast guard officials.
“You’re pushing us to the wall”, Malaya said of China. By backtracking,” We do not and will not sugarcoat these scare techniques.” We do not relent or tremble in the face of harassment. On the contrary, it strengthens our resolve because we know we are in the appropriate”.
Two Philippine coast guard ships, backed by a small surveillance aircraft, repeatedly ordered the 165-meter ( 541-foot ) Chinese coast guard ship to withdraw from the Philippines ‘ exclusive economic zone, a 200-nautical mile ( 370-kilometre ) stretch of water, Philippine coast guard Commodore Jay Tarriela said.
” What we’re doing there is, hour-by-hour and day-to-day, ( we’re ) challenging the illegal presence of the Chinese coast guard for the international community to know that we’re not going to allow China to normalize the illegal deployment”, Tarriela said.
Taiwanese leaders did not respond right away. They have repeatedly accused Vietnam and Malaysia, as well as other rival claim claims, of eroding into what they claim are “uncontested” Chinese territorial waters in the past.
The Philippines has forcefully defended its regional interests in the South China Sea, a crucial global trading road, under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took office in mid-2022. That has sparked fears that a bigger armed conflict could draw in the United States, the country’s long-term ally and China’s regional rival. It has also caused Philippine forces to frequently clash with China’s coast guard, navy, and suspected militia boats.
The Philippines has been forced to seek security pacts with other Asian and Western nations, including Japan, with whom it signed a crucial agreement last July that would allow their forces to conduct joint combat training. The first such agreement to be forged by Japan in Asia must be ratified by lawmakers from both nations before it becomes effective.
After a tense territorial standoff with the Philippines in 2012, China surrounded Scarborough Shoal with its coast guard and other ships. In 2013, the Philippines formally settled their disputes with China in international arbitration, which came to an end when a panel of experts in The Hague invalidated China’s expansive claims under the 1982 United Convention on the Law of the Sea.
China has resisted the arbitration ruling from 2016 and is still defaming it in full.
” Will this lead to another case”? Malaya said. ” All options are on the table because the Philippine government considers things it was not considering before the closer the monster ship is in Philippine waters.
A senior Philippine official said on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to discuss such sensitive issues publicly that China has warned the Philippines of pursuing another legal case in an international forum after the arbitration. The country has preferred bilateral negotiations, which give Beijing an advantage because of its size and clout.
In order to prevent an escalation of the disputes, the two nations have also been talking about their territorial disputes through a bilateral consultation process. China will host the next round of discussions, the official said.
