The US on Monday called China’s use of a ‘laser’ against a Philippine Coast Guard vessel in early February as ‘provocative’ and ‘dangerous’ as relations between Washington and Beijing see a resurgence. of tension.
“The United States stands with its Philippine allies after reports of the Chinese Coast Guard using a laser against a crew of a Philippine Coast Guard vessel on February 6 in the sea. of southern China,” U.S. Foreign Affairs spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
China’s conduct was “provocative” and “dangerous”, “causing the crew to be temporarily blinded”, he added, hours after the Philippines made the incident public.
This Chinese operation “directly threatens peace and stability and undermines the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea”, also underlined the spokesperson.
The facts occurred about twenty kilometers from the Second Thomas atoll, in the Spratly archipelago, where Filipino soldiers are stationed.
“China has no legitimate maritime rights” on this atoll, recalled Ned Price.
This is the latest maritime incident between Beijing and Manila, in disagreement over this sea, a strategic space with rich energy and fishery resources.
Beijing claims almost all of it, but the Philippines as well as Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei also have claims. China has thus ignored a judgment of an international tribunal according to which its claims have no legal basis.
Washington and Manila, which are signatories to a mutual defense treaty, had agreed in early February to again carry out joint patrols in the South China Sea.
The two allies notably unveiled an agreement allowing American soldiers to access four additional bases in the Philippines, with a view to countering the rise of Beijing’s military power in the region.
These statements also come at a time when relations between China and the United States are experiencing renewed tension around reciprocal accusations of espionage, after the destruction on February 4 of a Chinese balloon which flew over sites sensitive to States. -United.