The U.S. Embassy in Vietnam has issued a warning to Americans there as a typhoon approaches the coast having killing at least 114 people in the Philippines.
Why It Matters
Densely populated Vietnam is vulnerable to typhoons roaring in across the South China Sea.
The U.S. military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) said the storm had gathered strength as it approached Vietnam, upgrading it to a Category 4. Forecasters said Vietnam’s low-lying commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City could be hit by flooding.
What To Know
Typhoon Kalmaegi killed at least 114 people in the Philippines, where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of emergency on Thursday. Rescuers in the Philippines were still searching for more than 100 people missing, mostly in widespread flooding in central provinces.
Vietnamese authorities have ordered mass evacuations from low-lying coastal areas in the path of Typhoon Kalmaegi, the 13th to hit Vietnam this year.
The storm is expected to make landfall in central Vietnam, just north of the city of Quy Nhon, late on Thursday and early on Friday, when the JTWC estimates its intensity could drop from 90 to 20 knots.
“The storm is expected to land in areas already impacted by heavy rains and flooding. The U.S. Embassy and Consulate General in Vietnam urge all U.S. citizens in affected areas to maintain caution and follow the directions of local authorities,” the U.S. mission in Vietnam said in a release.
The Vietnam National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting warned that coastal areas from Hue to Dak Lak may be hit by waves of up to 26 feet and a storm surge of up to 2 feet in addition to high winds, possibly exceeding 84 miles per hour.
U.S. Embassy said: “Residents should expect continued risk of flooding, flash floods, and landslides. Additionally, infrastructure already weakened by previous flooding may be increasingly unreliable.”
Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, faces a heightened risk of severe flooding as high tides are expected to coincide with heavy rainfall from the typhoon, according to the Associated Press. Authorities have warned that low-lying areas could be inundated.
What People Are Saying
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center said in its latest bulletin: “Typhoon Kalmaegi is barreling toward the Vietnamese coast and reaching peak intensity.”
What Happens Next
The storm is likely to lose strength after crossing the Vietnamese coast and moving northwest, toward northeast Cambodia, eastern Thailand and southern Laos later on Friday.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
A Philippine general said on Friday that the United States Typhon missile system deployed in the country since April last year is capable of striking China.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Why It Matters
The Typhon Mid-Range Capability system is a land-based missile system operated by the U.S. Army. It can launch two types of missiles—the Tomahawk and the Standard Missile-6—against aerial, surface and land targets, with respective ranges of about 1,000 and 290 miles.
Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said in an interview that deploying the Typhon missile system is part of the military’s effort to strengthen its capability to defend the country against any invasion attempt, the Daily Tribune reported.
While acknowledging that mainland China and China’s artificial islands in the South China Sea are within range of the system, the general said the weapon’s range does “not matter to others” as the Philippines focuses on building defenses against “any threats.”
“It is not specifically targeting China, but these missile systems are here so we can train. Once we acquire these capabilities, we must be ready to use them,” the general said. Manila revealed its interest in buying the Typhon missile system last November.
The Philippine military chief said that even without hosting the U.S. missile system, the country is already a target because of its “very strategic” location, close to Taiwan and serving as a chokepoint between the South China Sea and the broader Pacific.
China’s communist government has claimed sovereignty over the self-governed island of Taiwan and has threatened to use force to achieve reunification. The Typhon missile system could strike Chinese invasion forces in the air and at sea from the Philippines.
The Philippines and Taiwan form part of a north-south defensive line known as the First Island Chain, along with Japan, under a U.S. containment strategy that aims to project military power to deter and defend against potential Chinese aggression.
The Chinese defense and foreign ministries have been urging the U.S. and the Philippines to withdraw the Typhon missile system from the Philippines, saying the deployment undermines China’s legitimate security interests and warning that it would take necessary countermeasures.
“This is a significant step in our partnership with the Philippines, our oldest treaty ally in the region,” the U.S. Army previously said of the “landmark” Typhon missile system deployment, saying it has enhanced interoperability, readiness and defense capabilities.
What People Are Saying
Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said in an interview on Friday: “These are medium-range missiles, meaning that if they are launched, they can reach mainland China and even their artificial islands. But for us, they do not matter to others; we are strengthening the [Armed Forces of the Philippines] to defend our country against any nation attempting to invade or seize our territory.”
Guo Jiakun, spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, said at a press conference on February 12: “China will not sit idly by when its security interests are harmed or threatened … We call on the Philippines to change its course, and make a strategic choice that truly serves the fundamental interest of itself and its people, rather than staying on the wrong path and hurting the Philippines itself when it comes to issues like Typhon.”
What Happens Next
China is likely to continue pressuring the Philippines over the Typhon missile system deployment, which could further increase tensions in the contested South China Sea.
A Navy fighter jet and a helicopter crashed in the South China Sea in separate incidents on Sunday, the Navy said. Crew members from both aircraft were safely rescued.
According to the U.S. Pacific Fleet, an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter that was assigned to the Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73 “Battle Cats” crashed around 2:45 p.m. local time while “conducting routine operations.”
All three crew members were rescued, the Pacific Fleet said in an X post.
An MH-60R Sea Hawk on the flight deck of the USS Ronald Reagan as USS Mustin steams alongside in the South China Sea on Thursday, July 9, 2020.
Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Erica Bechard / AP
About 30 minutes later, an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter from the Strike Fighter Squadron 22 “Fighting Redcocks” also crashed while conducting routine operations, the fleet said. Its two crew members ejected and were rescued by search and rescue teams from Carrier Strike Group 11.
The Pacific Fleet said all crew members were in stable condition.
It said the causes of the crashes were under investigation.
China’s coast guard accused a Philippine ship of deliberately ramming one of its vessels on Tuesday near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. The Philippines denied it, saying China’s forces used powerful water cannons that damaged its ship and injured a crew member.
A Chinese coast guard statement said more than 10 Philippine government ships coming from various directions entered the waters around the shoal, which is called Huangyan Island in Chinese. It said it deployed water cannons against the vessels.
The encounter came six days after China announced it was designating part of Scarborough Shoal as a national nature reserve. The Philippine government, which calls the shoal Bajo de Masinloc, filed a diplomatic protest.
China and the Philippines have clashed repeatedly around outcroppings in the South China Sea, which China claims almost in its entirety. The two countries are among several that have competing claims to territory in the waters, which are of strategic importance and home to valuable fishing grounds.
The Philippine coast guard said two Chinese coast guard ships hit a Filipino fisheries vessel, the BRP Datu Gumbay Piang, with powerful water cannons for nearly 30 minutes “resulting in significant damage,” including in the captain’s cabin and the bridge. A glass window was shattered and injured a personnel while the deluge of water caused a short circuit that affected electrical outlets and five outdoor air-conditioning units, it said.
A Chinese navy warship also broadcast a radio notice “announcing live-fire exercises” at the shoal which caused panic among Filipino fishermen, said the Philippine coast guard.
The Philippine coast guard and fisheries ships were deployed to the shoal on Tuesday to provide fuel, water, ice and other aid to more than 35 fishing boats in the area.
And in September 2024, a CBS News “60 Minutes” crew witnessed an incident in which a Chinese coast guard vessel rammed into a Philippine coast guard ship that had deployed for a mission to resupply ships and stations in the South China Sea.
The high-seas accident last month has raised concerns about maritime safety and questions about the extent to which the U.S. should involve itself in longstanding tensions between those countries.
Several friendly countries have backed the Philippines on the nature reserve.
A statement from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the Chinese action “yet another coercive move to advance sweeping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea at the expense of its neighbors.”
The U.K. and Australia also expressed concern, and the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines said it opposed attempts to use environmental protection as a way to take control over the disputed Scarborough Shoal.
The Trump administration has supported the Philippines in its dispute with China. In March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the Philippines and he and Rubio have assured the Philippines that the U.S. commitment to the country’s defense remains iron-clad.
First, a report on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot prosecutions. Then, how a Philippines, China clash could draw in the U.S. And, Dua Lipa: The 60 Minutes Interview.
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If there’s going to be a military conflict between the United States and China, the thinking in Washington goes, it will most likely happen if China tries to invade Taiwan. But lately tensions have escalated precariously in another part of the South China Sea-the waters off the western coast of the Philippines where an international tribunal ruled the Philippines has exclusive economic rights. But China claims almost all of the South China Sea, one of the world’s most vital waterways through which more than $3 trillion in goods flow each year. To assert its claims, China has been using tactics just short of war — leading to violent confrontations. The United States has a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines, which could mean American intervention. It’s been called “the most dangerous conflict no one is talking about.” And last month we saw for ourselves just how dangerous it can be…
When we boarded the Philippine Coast Guard ship Cape Engaño last month, it was supposed to be for a routine mission resupplying ships and stations in the South China Sea.
But in the middle of our first night …
Sirens raged… crew members rushed between decks.
Cecilia Vega: It’s 4 in the morning. We’ve all been sound asleep. This alarm just went off on the ship. We were told to wake up and put our life jackets on because we’ve just been rammed by a Chinese boat.
There was confusion… fear. Our team was told to stay inside the cabin for safety.
It was unclear if we would take on water…. or if the Chinese would try to force their way on board…
60 Minutes
Philippine crew members prepared for that possibility and stood by the hatch holding clubs in case they had to fend off the Chinese.
This cellphone video taken by the Filipinos shows the moment just after impact– the Chinese coast guard ship- 269 feet long and nearly twice the size of the Cape Engaño– jammed into the Philippine’s starboard quarter- the rear right side of the ship.
When the Chinese pulled away…the Filipinos found a three-and-a-half-foot hole…an officer told us we were lucky the damage was above the water line…
Cecilia Vega: There are… you can’t see here in the dark– about four or five different Chinese boats surrounding us, at the moment. And the crew tells me they can see on the radar that more are coming right now
This happened about 60 nautical miles off the coast of the Philippines — and about 660 nautical miles from China… on the way to a place called Sabina Shoal…
Manila and Beijing have stationed Coast Guard vessels around the shoal in recent months, with the Philippines fearing China will take control…
In 2016, an international tribunal at the Hague ruled the Philippines has exclusive economic rights in a 200-mile zone that includes Sabina Shoal and the area where the Cape Engaño was rammed.
China does not recognize the ruling and says the South China Sea has been its territory since ancient times.
Cecilia Vega: We’re just getting our first light. And now, we have a much better sense of just how surrounded we are by Chinese vessels. You can see these two right here actually say, “China Coast Guard,” We’re at a complete standoff. We’ve been here for, going on, two hours now, not moving. It’s unclear whether we can even turn around and go back, if we wanted to. We’re just completely surrounded by Chinese ships.
Fourteen in all… including a militia of large fishing vessels used to help occupy territory and block ships like the one we were on…
The Filipinos tried to negotiate a way out, but ultimately were forced to abandon the first stop of their mission.
Cecilia Vega: He said we’re not going to Sabina
In their damaged boat… they had to take a long detour to their next supply drop, as Chinese ships followed closely.
By this time, the Chinese had already publicized their version of the incident — accusing the Filipinos of instigating the conflict and highlighting our team’s faces– accusing us of being part of a propaganda campaign
Chinese video: The Philippines has turned the South China Sea into its theater …deliberately ramming a Chinese Coast Guard ship, with Western journalists right there to capture the drama…
Cecilia Vega: they’re saying that this is your fault, this collision.
Captain Labay: If you do the ramming, the other ship would ha– would have the damage, not your ship.
Captain Daniel Labay, the top-ranking officer on the Cape Engaño, took us below deck to survey the damage..
Cecilia Vega and Captain Daniel Labay
60 Minutes
He told us it would not stop them from continuing on.
Captain Labay: This is our place. This is our exclusive economic zone. It’s– this is the Philippines.
Over the past two years, the Chinese have turned the South China Sea into a demolition derby– repeatedly ramming Philippine ships and blasting them with water cannons…
But what we saw on the Cape Engaño represented a significant escalation– bringing the battle lines closer than ever to the Philippine shore.
Within hours of the collision the Biden administration condemned China for what it called “dangerous and destabilizing conduct.”
Cecilia Vega: This has become an international incident what happened on your ship this morning.
Captain Labay: I’ve been assigned here for two years, and this is just what we deal with every day.
Cecilia Vega: Is it getting worse now?
Captain Labay: Yes, it’s– it’s getting worse.
Cecilia Vega: What’s behind this uptick in tension? What changed?
Gilbert Teodoro: I think, well, what changed is the determination of the Philippines to say, “No.”
Cecilia Vega: You’re standing up to China?
Gilbert Teodoro: Oh yes. Yes, and they don’t like it.
Gilberto Teodoro is the Philippine secretary of national defense.
Gilbert Teodoro: The proverbial schoolyard bully is the best example of what China is, you know. It– it just muscles you over.
Gilbert Teodoro
60 Minutes
For example, he says: the aptly named Mischief Reef in the Philippines’ economic zone once looked like this…. it now looks like this. In the 1990s, the Chinese took it over and started turning the reef into a military base.
As the Cape Engaño passed near Mischief Reef…a Chinese Navy destroyer appeared…
E.J. Cruise: China Navy warship, 105….this is MRV 4411…
The Filipinos repeatedly asked for safe passage…
E.J. Cruise: Please keep clear of our passage and maintain safe distance. Over.
Each time there was no response… in a game of cat and mouse … the destroyer edged forward.
The Filipinos — forced to come to a stop and adjust course to avoid another collision.
Ray Powell: China has decided that at this point in their history, they are large enough so that they can buck the law.
In Manila, we met retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Ray Powell who runs the nonprofit Sealight…
… which tracks China’s actions in the South China Sea.
Cecilia Vega: How do they get away with this?
Ray Powell: There’s a law and there’s a judge, but there’s no– there’s no enforcer. There’s no prosecutor. There’s nobody to put ’em in jail
Cecilia Vega: There’s no sheriff out, unless, I suppose, the U.S. decides to intervene, which then, when then becomes the world policeman?
Cecilia Vega: I wanna understand a scenario in which that red line could be crossed.
Ray Powell: You were just involved in a situation where you were hit by a larger ship. Imagine if that ship had sunk your ship and several people had died. What would the Philippines then feel compelled to do? They probably wouldn’t go instantly to war. But they might instantly get onto a war footing. They might go to the United States and say, “This looks a lot like an armed attack to us. We were hit by a ship and people died.”
Cecilia Vega: And in a scenario like that, would the United States be obligated to intervene?
Ray Powell: Look, every treaty– in– in the end depends on the political will of the parties. What I will say is if the United States fails or appears to fail to meet its treaty obligations, the entire U.S. treaty and alli– alliance and treaty structure is built on credibility.
Cecilia Vega: Your word means nothing?
Ray Powell: If it means nothing to the Philippines, what does it mean to Japan? What does it mean to Australia? What does it mean to NATO?
The U.S. has not had a permanent military presence in the Philippines since 1992. Though it does conduct regular joint exercises, and this year committed $500 million in military aid to Manila and another 128 million to upgrade bases.
We met General Romeo Brawner, the military chief of staff, at one of those bases, after he landed in his fighter jet following an aerial reconnaissance flight over the South China Sea.
Cecilia Vega: How much time do you spend focused on China?
General Romeo Brawner: Almost the whole day
Last year General Brawner visited the Philippines’ equivalent of the Alamo, a grounded World War II battleship called the Sierra Madre, manned by soldiers and used to hold down Manila’s claim to a disputed area in the South China Sea.
It was the scene of the most violent incident to date.
General Romeo Brawner:
60 Minutes
In June, when the Philippine Navy tried to resupply those troops, the Chinese blocked the delivery… it was near hand to hand combat.
General Romeo Brawner: What was surprising was that they had bladed weapons with them. They had spears with them.
Cecilia Vega: You had never seen that before.
General Romeo Brawner: We have not seen that before. And they began– attacking our boats. They started puncturing our boats with their spears
A Filipino Navy SEAL lost his right thumb after the Chinese rammed his boat.
General Romeo Brawner: They stole our equipment. They destroyed our equipment. They hurt our personnel. And these are the doings of pirates. I warned our personnel – if this happens again, you have the right to defend yourselves.
Cecilia Vega: If the Chinese were to fire upon your men and your men fire back, sir, that sounds like the makings of the– the beginning of a war.
General Romeo Brawner: Yes. Yes, indeed, indeed
Defense Secretary Teodoro told us there are ongoing conversations between Washington and Manila about which scenarios would trigger U.S. involvement
Cecilia Vega: Do you worry that perhaps some unpredictable incident at sea could cause tensions to escalate? And then, you know, suddenly the Philippines, not Taiwan, becomes the flash-point in the South China Sea–
Gilbert Teodoro: Oh, yes. Oh, yes, definitely.
Cecilia Vega: If China were to take the Sierra Madre, would that merit America’s intervention?
Gilbert Teodoro: If China were to take the Sierra Madre, that is a clear act of war on a Philippine vessel.
Cecilia Vega: And you would expect American intervention–
Gilbert Teodoro: And we will react. And naturally, we would expect it.
Cecilia Vega: You’re talking about a rusty, old warship. How realistic is it to expect the United States to intervene over the fate of a warship like that?
Gilbert Teodoro: There are people in there, that is an outpost of Philippine sovereignty. So we’re not talking about a rusty, old vessel solely. We’re talking about a piece of Philippine territory in there.
President Biden has invited Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the White House twice in the past 16 months… and assured him of America’s support…
President Biden: “I wanna be very clear. The United States defense commitment to the Philippines is ironclad.”
Earlier this year Washington sent the Philippines a powerful weapon during joint exercises – a mid-range missile system capable of reaching mainland China.
Cecilia Vega: That clearly angered China in a big way
Gilbert Teodoro: Well, that’s none of their business. This is for Philippine defense.
Cecilia Vega: It’s none of China’s business that you have a missile that could reach their shores?
Gilbert Teodoro: What happens within our territory, it is for our defense. We follow international law. What’s the fuss?
Cecilia Vega: Do you plan to keep mid-range missiles capable of reaching mainland China at some of your bases?
Gilbert Teodoro: I can neither confirm nor deny if there is such a plan.
Cecilia Vega: You say, “What’s the fuss?” China says that you’ve brought the risk of war into the region by doing this.
Gilbert Teodoro: That’s what they always say. Everything the world does that they don’t like is the fault of the world.
Cecilia Vega: But how do you think this ends though? You don’t expect China to pack up and leave, do you?
Gilbert Teodoro: I really don’t know the end state. All I know is that we cannot let them get away with what they’re doing.
Produced by Andy Court and Jacqueline Williams. Associate producer, Annabelle Hanflig. Broadcast associates, Katie Jahns. Edited by Sean Kelly.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Thursday that Malaysia will not bow to demands by China to stop its oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea as the activities are within the country’s waters.
Anwar said Malaysia would continue to explain its stance following China’s accusations in a protest note in February to the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing that Kuala Lumpur had infringed on its territory. Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it was investigating the leak of the diplomatic protest note that was published by a Filipino media outlet on Aug. 29.
“We have never intended in any way to be intentionally provocative, unnecessarily hostile. China is a great friend, but of course we have to operate in our waters and secure economic advantage, including drilling for oil in our territory,” Anwar said in a televised news conference from Russia, where he is on an official visit.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer published the diplomatic note in which Beijing reportedly demanded that Malaysia immediately halt all activities in an oil-rich maritime area off Sarawak state on Borneo island.
The report said China had accused Malaysia of encroaching on areas covered by its 10-dash line, Beijing’s controversial map showing its claims to sovereignty in the South China Sea. The diplomatic note also expressed Beijing’s displeasure over Malaysia’s oil and gas exploration activities near the Luconia Shoals, which is near to Sarawak, it said.
Anwar said it wasn’t the first time China had sent a protest note over the South China Sea dispute but stressed it shouldn’t mar a strong relationship. Anwar had called China a “true friend” during a visit to Malaysia by Chinese President Li Qiang in June to mark 50 years of diplomatic ties.
“We have said that we will not transgress other people’s borders,” Anwar said. “They know our position … They have claimed that we are infringing on their territory. That is not the case. We say no, it is our territory. But if they continue with the dispute, then okay, we will have to listen, and they will have to listen.”
Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan all dispute Beijing’s claims to almost the entire South China Sea. Unlike the Philippines which has had public clashes with China in the disputed area, Malaysia’s government prefers diplomatic channels. It rarely criticizes Beijing publicly, even though Chinese coast guard ships have sailed near Malaysia’s waters. This is partly to protect economic ties as China has been Malaysia’s top trading partner since 2009.
Nearly 1,000 pieces of treasure — including copper coins and ornate pottery from the Ming Dynasty — were recovered from a pair of ancient shipwrecks discovered in the South China Sea, officials said on Thursday.
The yearlong retrieval operation came after the two shipwrecks were discovered in 2022 about 5,000 feet underwater near the northwest continental slope of the South China Sea, according to China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration. Archaeologists used a crewed submersible called “Deep Sea Warrior” to conduct the excavation, officials said.
The team of scientists recovered 890 pieces of artifacts from the first shipwreck, including copper coins, porcelain and pottery items, officials said. The second shipwreck yielded 38 relics, including lumber, turban shells and deer antlers.
The National Cultural Heritage Administration released images of the recovered treasure as well as photos of the submersible retrieving artifacts from the ocean floor with a robotic “claw.”
Nearly 1,000 pieces of treasure — including copper coins and ornate pottery from the Ming Dynasty — have been recovered from a pair of ancient shipwrecks discovered in the South China Sea.
National Cultural Heritage Administration
While the shipwrecks and their treasure hold obvious cultural value, they also reinforce China’s political objectives of asserting territorial claims over the region. Beijing claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea under its “nine-dash-line” policy and has tried to leverage those claims with China’s historical presence in the region.
In 2016, an international court ruled that major elements of China’s claims in the South China Sea were unlawful, but Beijing says it does not recognize the ruling.
Six countries have claims to parts of the sea — China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Brunei, and Malaysia — and the stakes are high. Trillions of dollars worth of trade pass through the South China Sea each year, and there is a massive amount of oil under the seafloor.
And then there is also shipwreck treasure, which China uses to amplify its contested claims.
“The discovery provides evidence that Chinese ancestors developed, utilized and traveled to and from the South China Sea, with the two shipwrecks serving as important witnesses to trade and cultural exchanges along the ancient Maritime Silk Road,” said Guan Qiang, deputy head of the NCHA, said Thursday.
Nearly 1,000 pieces of treasure have been recovered from a pair of ancient shipwrecks discovered in the South China Sea.
National Cultural Heritage Administration
China’s Ming dynasty, which stretched from 1368-1644, was “a period of cultural restoration and expansion,” according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The museum said vast landscapes and artwork featuring flowers and birds “were particularly favored as images that would glorify the new dynasty and convey its benevolence, virtue, and majesty.”
The news of the shipwreck treasure comes just weeks after an iconic U.S. Navy submarine that was sunk during World War II was located 3,000 feet underwater in the South China Sea off the coast of the Philippines.
Stephen Smith is a managing editor for CBSNews.com based in New York. A Washington, D.C. native, Steve was previously an editorial producer for the Washington Post, and has also worked in Los Angeles, Boston and Tokyo.
Singapore meeting between Lloyd Austin, Dong Jun marks first substantive face-to-face talks between the two nations in 18 months.
The defence chiefs of the United States and China have held rare direct talks in Singapore, offering hope that further military dialogue could help prevent disputes over Taiwan and the South China Sea from spinning out of control.
Lloyd Austin and Dong Jun met early on Friday on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue to hold their first substantive face-to-face discussion in 18 months.
They began the talks at the luxury hotel hosting the security forum, according to officials. The meeting followed a video conference call in April.
Defence chiefs and officials from around the world are attending the annual forum that has in recent years become a barometer of US-China relations.
This year’s edition comes a week after China held military drills around Taiwan and warned of war over the US-backed island following the inauguration of President William Lai Ching-te, who Beijing has described as a “dangerous separatist”.
The dispute over democratic Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory, tops the list of disagreements between the rivals.
Beijing is furious over Washington’s deepening defence ties in the Asia Pacific, particularly with the Philippines, and its regular deployment of warships and fighter jets in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.
In recent weeks, the Philippines hosted the largest ever joint military exercise with the US. On Thursday, China’s defence ministry strongly condemned the deployment of a US intermediate-range missile system in the northern Philippines during military drills in April, saying it “brought huge risks of war into the region”.
China views the activities as part of a decades-long US effort to contain it.
Easing friction
President Joe Biden’s administration and China have been stepping up communication to ease friction between the nuclear-armed rivals, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken visiting Beijing and Shanghai last month.
A key focus has been the resumption of military-to-military dialogue.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing were stoked further during 2023 by issues including an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over US airspace, a meeting between Taiwan’s then-president Tsai Ing-wen and Pelosi’s successor Kevin McCarthy, and American military aid for Taipei.
The two sides agreed after a summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Biden in November last year to restart high-level military talks.
That includes a communications channel between the US Asia Pacific command chief and Chinese commanders responsible for military operations near Taiwan, Japan and in the South China Sea.
Chinese and US forces have had a series of close encounters in the disputed waterway that China claims almost entirely.
Austin warned prior to Biden and Xi agreeing to resume military-to-military dialogue that accidents have the potential to spiral out of control, especially in the absence of open lines of communication between American and Chinese forces.
In a post on X early on Friday announcing his arrival in Singapore, Austin said he would meet with regional counterparts and continue his department’s work with “like-minded Indo-Pacific partners to promote our shared vision for a free and open region”.
BEIJING/MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines on Tuesday accused China’s coast guard of harassment and damaging one of its boats in a disputed area of the South China Sea, and rejected Beijing’s position that it had expelled two vessels from the hotly contested shoal.
The Philippine coast guard said its two vessels stood their ground at the Scarborough Shoal, a key battleground in the South China Sea, but one sustained damage from use of water cannon by two Chinese coast guard ships.
“This damage serves as evidence of the forceful water pressure used by the China coast guard in their harassment of the Philippine vessels,” Philippine coast guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said in a statement.
“They were not deterred and will persist in carrying out their legitimate operations to support Filipino fishermen and ensure their safety.”
No country has sovereignty over the strategically located Scarborough Shoal, a prime fishing patch used by several countries that is close to major shipping lanes. The shoal falls inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
China has occupied the atoll for more than a decade and waters around its lagoon, which has long been a sanctuary for vessels during storms, have been the site of multiple confrontations in recent years.
China’s coast guard said the vessels had been expelled but did not provide details of the incident.
“China urges the Philippine side to immediately stop its provocative acts of infringement and do not challenge China’s firm determination to safeguard its sovereignty,” said Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, at a regular press briefing.
“China’s coast guard took necessary measures in line with the law to firmly expel them.”
The Philippine’ Tarriela said its vessel, the BRP Bagacay, suffered damage to its railing and canopy and China has installed a floating barrier at the shoal’s entrance, “effectively restricting access to the area”.
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said China’s expansive claim had no legal basis, a decision Beijing has rejected.
China and the Philippines have traded accusations of illegal conduct at the Scarborough Shoal and Manila recently summoned a Chinese diplomat to explain what it calls aggressive manoeuvres. China typically accuses the Philippines of encroaching on its territory.
China and Philippines previously said they would seek better communications and management around skirmishes in the vast South China Sea, but tensions have increased recently, as the Philippines forges stronger diplomatic and military ties with the ally the United States.
(Reporting by Beijing newsroom and Mikhail Flors and Neil Jerome Morales in Manila; Writing by Bernard Orr and Mikhail Flores; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Michael Perry, Martin Petty)
In meeting with former Taiwanese president, Xi Jinping stresses ‘historical trend of reunion of the country and family’.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has met former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou and said that outside influence cannot stop the “family” reunion between Beijing and Taipei.
Xi emphasised dialogue between the two sides during the meeting with Ma on Wednesday, saying that all issues can be discussed, the Reuters news agency reported.
“External interference cannot stop the historical trend of reunion of the country and family,” Xi said, in comments reported by Taiwanese media.
Beijing views the self-ruled island as a province that must be reunited with mainland China, and it has not ruled out using force to assert its claims to Taiwan.
Taiwan cut off contact with mainland China and established its own government in 1949 after nationalist forces who lost the Chinese Civil War to Mao Zedong’s communists fled there.
Officially known as the Republic of China, Taiwan quickly became an economic powerhouse and an ally of the United States in subsequent years. It is now one of the largest producers of semiconductors, a key component in electronic devices across the world.
No sitting Taiwanese president has ever visited China. Ma is now on his second trip to China after becoming last year the first former Taiwanese president to visit the country.
The visit comes amid growing tensions across the Taiwan Strait. On Wednesday, Xi said both sides of the strait are Chinese.
“There is no rancour that cannot be resolved, no problem that cannot be discussed, and no force that can separate us,” the Chinese president was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Xi had previously said that the unification of China and Taiwan is “inevitable”.
But Western countries have warned China against considering an invasion of Taiwan, and US President Joe Biden has said that Washington would militarily defend the island if it is attacked.
China has conducted military exercises near Taiwan in recent years, including in 2022 in response to a visit by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island.
Ma told Xi on Wednesday that tensions have caused unease for many Taiwanese.
“If there is a war between the two sides, it will be unbearable for the Chinese people,” Ma said, using a term that refers to people who are ethnically Chinese in both countries.
“Chinese on both sides of the strait absolutely have enough wisdom to handle all disputes peacefully and avoid heading into conflict.”
Responding to the talks, Taiwan’s China-policy-making Mainland Affairs Council said it deeply regretted that Ma did not publicly convey the Taiwanese people’s insistence on defending the sovereignty and democratic system of the Republic of China.
It added that Beijing should stop intimidating Taipei and resolve differences with Taiwan through respectful dialogue.
Ma, who served as Taiwan’s president from 2008 to 2016, remains a senior member of Taiwan’s main opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT).
In January, Vice President Lai Ching-te, seen by Beijing as a “dangerous separatist”, won the elections in Taiwan. He will succeed current President Tsai Ing-wen in May.
Biden and Xi held a phone call earlier this month for the first time since November.
“This call will be an opportunity for the president to reaffirm the US ‘One China’ policy and reiterate the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, especially given the upcoming May presidential inauguration in Taiwan,” a US official told reporters on the condition of anonymity last week.
Washington pursues a “One China” policy that does not recognise Taiwan as an official country despite having close ties to its government.
Two countries involved in a second incident this month at disputed Second Thomas Shoal.
Manila has accused China’s coastguard of firing water cannon at one of its supply boats, in the latest incident between the two countries in the disputed South China Sea.
The Philippine military said the Saturday morning confrontation lasted for nearly an hour and took place as it sought to resupply a small garrison of sailors on board the sunken Sierra Madre off Second Thomas Shoal.
The shoal, known as Ayungin in the Philippines, has been the site of multiple similar stand-offs in recent months. It lies about 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) from China’s southern Hainan island.
The military released a video clip showing a white ship marked China Coast Guard crossing the bow of a grey vessel it identified as the Philippine supply boat Unaizah May 4, and unleashing its water cannon.
“The UM4 supply boat sustained heavy damages at around 08:52 (00:52 GMT) due to the continued blasting of water cannons from the CCG vessels,” the military said in a statement, without going into detail about the damage.
A Philippine Coast Guard escort vessel later reached the damaged boat “to provide assistance”, the military said.
Gan Yu, a spokesman for the China Coast Guard, said that the Philippine convoy “forcibly intruded into the area despite the Chinese side’s repeated warnings and route controls”, adding the Chinese carried out “control, obstruction and eviction in accordance with law”.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, despite an international court finding in 2016 that the nine-dash line on which it bases its claim was without merit. The Philippines claims areas of the sea around its coasts as do Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam. The self-ruled island of Taiwan is also a claimant.
The United States lays no claims to the strategic waters but has sent Navy ships on transit missions through the waterway in what it calls “freedom of navigation” operations, which have been criticised by China.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the Philippines last week and stressed the US commitment to Manila was “ironclad”.
The China Coast Guard ship trying to block the resupply mission. The Unaizah May 4 had just returned to sea after an incident earlier this month [Armed Forces of the Philippines via AP Photo]
The Unaizah May 4 had returned to sea after being damaged in a China Coast Guard water cannon attack off Second Thomas Shoal earlier this month, It was escorted by two Filipino coastguard vessels and two Philippine Navy ships, a Philippine military statement said.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman for South China Sea issues, said in a separate statement that one of the escort vessels, the BRP Cabra, was “impeded and encircled” by three Chinese coastguard and other vessels early Saturday.
As a result, Cabra was “isolated from the resupply boat due to the irresponsible and provocative behaviour of the Chinese maritime forces”, he added.
The Chinese side showed a “disregard” for the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS), the statement said.
The Sierra Madre was run aground in 1999 and the troops living on the warship need frequent resupplies of food, water and other necessities.
Warning in talks between Chinese and US military officials comes days before self-ruled island holds elections.
Chinese military officials have told their US counterparts that Beijing will “never compromise” on the issue of Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its own.
The United States and China wrapped up two days of military talks in Washington, DC on Tuesday, the Pentagon said, the latest round of discussions since the two countries agreed to resume military-to-military ties.
The two sides are at odds over a range of issues from Taiwan to Beijing’s expansive claims in the South China Sea but agreed to resume talks after a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping last November.
China “stressed that it will never compromise or back down on the Taiwan issue”, China’s Ministry of National Defense said in a statement on the talks on Wednesday, urging the United States to “stop arming” the island, which is holding elections on Saturday.
The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, and Beijing has not ruled out the use of force to secure territorial control.
The Chinese side also urged the United States to “reduce its military deployment and provocative actions in the South China Sea and stop supporting violations and provocations by individual countries”, the statement continued.
“The United States should fully understand the root causes of maritime and air security issues, strictly rein in its frontline troops, and stop with the exaggeration and hype,” it said.
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea under its “nine-dash line“; a marker that an international court ruled in 2016 to be without legal basis.
In defiance of the ruling, Beijing has been expanding its activities in the South China Sea, building artificial islands and deploying its coastguard, fishing fleet and maritime militia to key areas.
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam all claim parts of the sea and Manila, in particular, has been involved in a number of confrontations with Chinese vessels at sea.
In its statement on the discussions, the Pentagon said Michael Chase, the deputy assistant secretary of defence for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, had met China’s Major General Song Yanchao, deputy director of the central military commission office for international military co-operation.
“The two sides discussed U.S.-PRC defense relations, and Chase highlighted the importance of maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication in order to prevent competition from veering into conflict,” the statement said, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China.
Chase told the Chinese side the US would “continue to fly, sail, and operate safely and responsibly wherever international law allows”.
He stressed the “importance of respect for high seas freedom of navigation” in light of “repeated PRC harassment against lawfully operating Philippine vessels in the South China Sea”.
Chase also “reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Strait” of Taiwan, the Pentagon added.
US officials have cautioned that even with some restoration of military communications, forging truly functional dialogue between the two sides could take time.
BEIJING/TOKYO (Reuters) – China and Japan accused each other of maritime incursions after a confrontation between their coast guards in waters around disputed islands in the East China Sea.
China’s coast guard said on Sunday that a Japanese fishing boat and several patrol vessels intruded the previous day into waters around the tiny islands, called Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan.
The uninhabited islands are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China.
China’s coast guard said in a statement it had taken necessary measures in accordance with the law to warn away the Japanese vessels.
Japan’s coast guard said on Saturday that two Chinese maritime patrol boats left Japan’s territorial waters around the islands after receiving warnings. It said its patrol vessels were protecting a Japanese fishing boat that had been approached by the Chinese ships.
Similar incidents occurred in November and October.
Asian maritime disputes involving China have been escalating. China and the Philippines traded accusations on Sunday over a collision between their vessels in a part of the South China Sea each nation claims, marking the second confrontation in as many days.
(Reporting by Colleen Howe in Beijing and Kevin Buckland in Tokyo; editing by Miral Fahmy and William Mallard)
A Chinese fighter jet conducted an “unsafe intercept” of a U.S. Air Force B-52 over the South China Sea earlier this week, the Pentagon said Thursday. Video of the Tuesday night confrontation was released by the Defense Department.
According to the Pentagon, the 38-second video shows the pilot of a Shenyang J-11 coming within 10 feet of the B-52, which is a long-range heavy bomber.
The Pentagon said the Chinese pilot “flew in an unsafe and unprofessional manner” and “demonstrated poor airmanship by closing with uncontrolled excessive speed.”
The Pentagon said it was “concerned” that China’s fighter pilot “was unaware of how close he came to causing a collision.”
Video of a Chinese J-11 fighter jet coming near a U.S. Air Force B-52 over the South China Sea. Oct. 24, 2023.
U.S. Defense Department
The B-52 was conducting routine nighttime operations when the confrontation occurred, and had limited visibility, the Pentagon stated. Furthermore, the Chinese fighter jet’s intercept “violated international air safety rules and norms.”
Since the fall of 2021, China’s military has initiated more than 180 similar interactions with aircraft of the U.S. military and other nations, according to the Pentagon.
In one such incident on May 26, also over the South China Sea, the pilot of a Chinese J-16 fighter flew directly in front of the nose of an RC-135, a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft. The two aircraft came within 400 feet of each other, and the RC-135 was forced to fly through the J-16’s wake turbulence, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command reported.
“There have been a series of these actions directed not just at us but at other countries in recent months,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the time.
There have also been confrontations at sea. In June, a Chinese navy ship cut across the path of an U.S. Navy missile destroyer in the Taiwan Strait, with the two ships coming within 150 yards.
China often conducts drills in the Taiwan Strait. It considers Taiwan, an island just off its east coast that’s been democratically governed for seven decades, part of its sovereign territory.
— Eleanor Watson and Elizabeth Palmer contributed to this report.
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China and the Philippines on Sunday accused each other of causing collisions in a disputed area of the South China Sea, the latest in a string of maritime confrontations between the two countries that have heightened regional tensions.
In a statement, Philippine authorities said a Chinese Coast Guard ship carried out “dangerous blocking maneuvers” that caused it to collide with a Philippine vessel carrying supplies to troops stationed in Ayungin Shoal, also known as Second Thomas Shoal, in the Spratly Islands chain.
China’s move was “provocative, irresponsible and illegal” and “imperiled the safety of the crew” of the Philippine boats, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said.
In a second incident Sunday, the Philippine task force said a Chinese maritime militia vessel collided with a Philippine coast guard ship, which was on the same mission to resupply the BRP Sierra Madre. Manila grounded the navy transport ship on Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 and has manned it with Filipino marines to enforce its claims to the area.
In a statement Sunday, the Chinese Coast Guard accused the Philippines of violating international marine law and threatening the navigation safety of Chinese ships.
It accused the first Philippine ship of trespassing into the waters of what it calls the Nansha islands and Renai Reef, prompting the Chinese Coast Guard ship to intercept “in accordance with the law,” and resulting in a “minor collision.”
In the second incident, the Chinese Coast Guard said the Philippine Coast Guard vessel “purposely provoked trouble and reversed course,” causing a collision with a Chinese fishing boat.
Beijing claims “indisputable sovereignty” over almost all of the 1.3 million square miles of the South China Sea, as well as most of the islands and sandbars within it, including many features that are hundreds of miles away from China’s mainland.
In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines in a landmark maritime dispute, which concluded that China has no legal basis to claim historic rights to the bulk of the South China Sea.
Beijing has ignored the ruling.
No injuries were reported in either collision Sunday, which marks the latest in a series of recent flashpoints between Beijing and Manila in the disputed waterway.
In September, the Philippine Coast Guard released video of a Filipino diver cutting a Chinese-installed floating barrier in a disputed area of the waterway that had prevented Filipino boats from entering.
It came just days after after the Philippine Coast Guard accused China’s maritime militia of turning vast patches of coral near the Palawan island chain into a bleached and broken wasteland.
China’s foreign ministry dismissed those allegations as “false and groundless.”
China is behaving like a schoolyard bully toward smaller countries, the Philippine defense secretary told CNN Friday during an exclusive interview in which he warned his nation, and the wider world, had to stand up to Beijing’s territorial expansion in the South China Sea.
“I cannot think of any clearer case of bullying than this,” said Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr. “It’s not the question of stealing your lunch money, but it’s really a question of stealing your lunch bag, your chair and even enrollment in school.”
While tensions between China and the Philippines over the highly-contested and strategic waterway have festered for years, confrontations have spiked this summer, renewing regional fears that a mistake or miscalculation at sea could trigger a wider conflict, including with the United States.
The region is widely seen as a potential flashpoint for global conflagration and the recent confrontations have raised concerns among Western observers of potentially developing into an international incident if China, a global power, decides to act more forcefully against the Philippines, a US treaty ally.
Teodoro characterized the Philippines’ refusal to back down in the waters within its 200 nautical-mile exclusive economic zone as a fight for the very existence of the Philippines.
“We’re fighting for our fisherfolk, we’re fighting for our resources. We’re fighting for our integrity as an archipelagic state… Our existence as the Republic of the Philippines is vital to this fight,” Teodoro said in a sit down interview at the Department of National Defense in Manila. “It’s not for us, it’s for the future generations too.”
Video purportedly shows Chinese ship firing water cannon at Filipino vessel in disputed waters
“And if we don’t stop, China is going to creep and creep into what is within our sovereign jurisdiction, our sovereign rights and within our territory,” he said, adding that Beijing wont stop until it controls “the whole South China Sea.”
Beijing says it is safeguarding its sovereignty and maritime interests in the South China Sea and warned the Philippines this week “not to make provocations or seek troubles.” It accused Philippine fishing and coast guard vessels of illegal entry into the area.
China claims “indisputable sovereignty” over almost all 1.3 million square miles of the South China Sea, and most of the islands and sandbars within it, including many features that are hundreds of miles from mainland China. Along with the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan also hold competing claims.
Over the past two decades China has occupied a number of reefs and atolls across the South China Sea, building up military installations, including runways and ports, which the Philippines says challenges its sovereignty and fishing rights as well as endangering marine biodiversity in the resource-rich waterway.
In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines in a landmark maritime dispute, which concluded that China has no legal basis to claim historic rights to the bulk of the South China Sea.
But Beijing has ignored the decision and continues to expand its presence in the waterway.
Video released of diver cutting China’s floating sea barrier
In his first sit-down TV interview with an international news outlet since he took the position in June, Teodoro was keen to stress whatever happens in the South China Sea impacts the globe.
Crucially, the waterway is vital to international trade with trillions of dollars in global shipping passing through it each year. It’s also home to vast fertile fishing grounds upon which many lives and livelihoods depend, and beneath the waves lie huge reserves of natural gas and oil that competing claimants are vying for.
With nations already suffering from inflation brought about by Russia’s war in Ukraine, there are concerns that any slow-down in travel and transporting of goods in the South China Sea would result in significant impact to the global economy.
“It will choke one of the most vital supply chain waterways in the whole world, it will choke international trade, and it will subject the world economy, particularly in supply chains to their whim,” Teodoro said, adding that if this were to happen, “the whole world will react.”
The defense secretary warned that smaller nations, including regional partners, rely on international law for their survival.
“Though they need China, they need Russia, they see that they too may become a victim of bullying. If they (China) close off the South China Sea, perhaps the next target may be the Straits of Malacca and then the Indian Ocean,” Teodoro said.
Why it matters who owns the seas (April 2021)
Only a few years ago the Philippines was treading a much more cautious path with its huge neighbor China.
But since taking office last year, Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr has taken a stronger stance over the South China Sea than his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte.
Marcos has also strengthened US relations that had frayed under Duterte, with the two allies touting increased cooperation and joint patrols in the South China Sea in the future.
In April, the Philippines identified the locations of four new military bases the US will gain access to, as part of an expanded defense agreement analysts say is aimed at combating China.
Washington has condemned Beijing’s recent actions in the contested sea and threatened to intervene under its mutual defense treaty obligations if Philippine vessels came under armed attack there.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Lindsey Ford reiterated Washington’s commitment to the mutual defense treaty in testimony before a US House subcommittee on Tuesday.
She said the treaty covers not only the Philippine armed forces, but also its coast guard and civilian vessels and aircraft.
“We have said repeatedly and continue to say that we stand by those commitments absolutely,” Ford said.
Defense secretary Teodoro has concerns about a possible escalation “because of the dangerous and reckless maneuvering of Chinese vessels” but he was clear that any incident – accidental or otherwise – the blame would lie with China “squarely on their shoulders.”
And he called global powers to help pressure Beijing over its moves in the South China Sea.
“Peace and stability in that one place in the world will generate some relief and comfort to everyone,” he said.
As part of the Marcos administration’s commitment to boost the Philippines defense and monitoring capabilities in the South China Sea, Teodoro said further “air and naval assets” have been ordered.
“There will be more patrol craft coming in, more rotary aircraft and we are studying the possibility to acquiring multi-role fighters,” he said, adding that would “make a difference in our air defense capabilities.”
Preferring cooler heads to prevail, Teodoro said that diplomacy would provide a way forward providing Chinese leader Xi Jinping complies with international law.
“Filipinos I believe are always willing to talk, just as long that talk does not mean whispers in a back room, or shouting at each other, meaning to say there must be substantial talks, open, transparent and on a rules-based basis,” he said, while also adding that talks cannot be used as a delaying tactic by Beijing.
The Philippines, he said, has “no choice” but to stand up to China because otherwise “we lose our identity and integrity as a nation.”
But conflict, he added, was not the answer or desired outcome.
“Standing up doesn’t mean really going to war with China, heavens no. We don’t want that. But we have to stand our ground when our ground is intruded into.”
A floating barrier installed by China to prevent Filipino boats from fishing in a disputed area of the South China Sea has been removed, Philippine authorities said Monday, the latest flashpoint between Manila and Beijing over their competing maritime claims.
Video released by the Philippine Coast Guard on Monday showed a Filipino diver cut what it said earlier was a 300-meter (984-feet) long string of buoys near Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal, a small but strategic reef and fertile fishing ground 130 miles (200 kilometers) west of the Philippine island of Luzon.
The footage showed the diver with a simple mask and snorkel slipping below the waves to use a small knife to cut through rope after reaching the barrier on a rickety fishing boat with a small crew.
The video is a vivid illustration of a fraught power struggle that has been playing out for years in the South China Sea as Manila tries to push back against increasingly assertive claims to the disputed strategic waterway by Beijing.
Philippine authorities claimed Sunday that three Chinese Coast Guard boats and a Chinese maritime militia service boat had installed the barrier following the arrival of a Philippine government vessel in the area.
“The barrier posed a hazard to navigation, a clear violation of international law,” the Philippine Coast Guard said in a statement Monday, adding that it also infringed on Philippine sovereignty.
Beijing on Monday defended its actions saying it has “indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Island and its adjacent waters,” using the Chinese name for the disputed shoal, and accusing the Filipino vessel of “intruding” without permission.
“The Chinese Coast Guard took the necessary measures in accordance with the law to stop and drive away the other vessel and the operation in question was conducted with professional restraint,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a regular press briefing.
Beijing claims “indisputable sovereignty” over almost all of the 1.3 million square miles of the South China Sea, as well as most of the islands and sandbars within it, including many features that are hundreds of miles away from China’s mainland.
Over the past two decades China has occupied a number of reefs and atolls across the South China Sea, building up military installations, including runways and ports, which have not only challenged the Philippines’ sovereignty and fishing rights but have also endangered marine biodiversity in the highly contested resource-rich waterway.
In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines in a landmark maritime dispute, which concluded that China has no legal basis to claim historic rights to the bulk of the South China Sea.
Beijing has ignored the ruling.
Western marine security experts, along with officials from the Philippines and the United States, have increasingly accused Beijing of using ostensibly civilian fishing vessels as a maritime militia that acts as an unofficial – and officially deniable – force that China uses to push its territorial claims both in the South China Sea and beyond.
The situation comes days after the Philippine Coast Guard accused China’s maritime militia of turning vast patches of coral near the Palawan island chain into a bleached and broken wasteland.
China’s foreign ministry dismissed those allegations as “false and groundless.”
