(Vientiane) China will “resolutely respond” if the Philippines violates a recent agreement aimed at easing tensions in the South China Sea, China’s foreign minister has told his Filipino counterpart.
Confrontations between the two countries have increased in recent months, particularly around Second Thomas Atoll, where Filipino soldiers are stationed on a military ship that Manila deliberately ran aground in 1999 to assert its sovereignty claims.
Each country released videos purporting to show the irrationality of the other’s actions during the incidents near the atoll, called “Ren’ai” by China and “Ayungin” by the Philippines.
Despite the tensions, Beijing and Manila held talks in July and reached an “interim arrangement” for the resupply of Philippine troops at Second Thomas.
“The main thing is that the Philippines now respects its commitments” and “does not change its political direction every few days,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his counterpart Enrique Manalo on Friday.
PHOTO CHALINEE THIRASUPA, REUTERS
Wang Yi, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs
“Otherwise, China will respond with determination,” Wang said during their meeting in Vientiane, Laos, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to a statement released by his ministry on Saturday.
According to Manila, a Filipino sailor lost a thumb in June when Chinese coast guards armed with knives and sticks prevented an attempt by the Philippine Navy to resupply its troops at Second Thomas.
China regularly accuses the Philippines of shipping construction materials to the stranded ship that would strengthen the dilapidated vessel and thus bolster its claims there.
“If the parties implement the agreement, and we hope that China will do so, we will be able to resupply our military personnel on the ship without any hindrance,” Enrique Manalo told reporters Friday evening.
PHOTO SAI AUNG MAIN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Enrique Manalo, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines
“I think this would be an important step in easing tensions and, hopefully, could lead to other areas of cooperation in the South China Sea.”
” Crossroads ”
China claims, for historical reasons, almost all of the islets in the South China Sea, in the face of other coastal states (the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia) with rival claims.
“Sino-Philippines relations are at a crossroads,” Wang Yi told Enrique Manalo on Friday.
“Conflict and confrontation are hopeless. Only dialogue and consultation are the right path to take,” he stressed.
Since Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos came to power in 2022, Manila has asserted more firmly its claims to sovereignty over certain disputed reefs, in the face of Beijing, which itself does not intend to give in on its demands.
The China-Philippines confrontation is fueling fears of a potential conflict that could lead to Washington’s intervention because of its mutual defense treaty with Manila.
US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken arrived in Laos on Saturday, where he is due to meet Wang Yi.