MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines said Friday that China’s coast guard has no plans to invoke the mutual defense treaty with the United States. They rammed and boarded two Philippine Navy ships and damaged them with machetes and axes. A Philippine Navy member was injured in a chaotic clash in shallow disputed waters in the South China Sea.
Top advisers to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made the remarks at a televised news conference, denying speculation that the Philippines might consider invoking a 1951 treaty to secure U.S. military aid after Monday’s clashes. Second Thomas SchollThe Philippine military commander condemned the incident, likening it to piracy, saying: Demanding China return of rifles and compensation for damages.
The territorial dispute, which involves China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, has long been seen as an Asian flashpoint that could bring the United States and China into conflict if the standoff on the high seas escalates into armed conflict. Washington has repeatedly We have an obligation to cooperate in the defense of the Philippines.China will provide emergency assistance to the United States, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Philippine troops, ships or aircraft come under attack in the South China Sea or elsewhere.
“That is not being considered in our discussions,” said Andres Centeno, presidential adviser for maritime affairs, when asked whether the Philippines was considering entering into a treaty with the United States.
Secretary-General Lucas Bersamin said the clash with the China Coast Guard was not considered an armed attack as outlined in the mutual defense treaty with the United States.
“This was probably a misunderstanding or an accident. We’re not ready to classify this as an armed attack yet,” Bersamin said. “We saw a rag and an axe, but nothing more.”
In what critics may see as a concession to China, Bersamin said President Marcos had approved a recommendation that the government publish a schedule for when naval personnel would be deployed to transport food, water and other supplies to the shallow-water Philippine-owned base, a small Philippine Navy unit aboard an aging warship that has long been stranded. BRP Sierra MadreThe United States has occupied Second Thomas Shoal since 1999, but China has since sent coast guard, navy and militia vessels into the area in an increasingly volatile territorial standoff.
During hours of clashes in shallow waters on Monday, Chinese personnel in more than eight motorboats reportedly rammed and boarded two Philippine Navy rubber boats, preventing Philippine Navy personnel from transporting food and other supplies, including firearms, to a Philippine shipping depot.
After the scuffle and repeated clashes, Chinese forces reportedly seized the boat and destroyed it with machetes, knives and hammers, seized eight cased M4 rifles and other material and injured several Philippine navy personnel, including one losing his right thumb, two Philippine security officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The Philippine Navy said only one person was injured, but two officials said at least five people were treated on a Philippine Coast Guard vessel that sailed nearby in shallow waters to rescue the navy personnel. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the sensitive dispute.
China blamed the Philippines for the collision, saying the Philippine sailors ignored warnings and “invaded” the shallow waters. The Philippines said the waters were within its internationally recognized exclusive economic zone and called on Chinese coast guard, navy and other vessels to leave the waters immediately, saying it would not succumb to Chinese aggression.
