US Says China’s ‘Provocative’ Acts Violate Philippine Rights
(Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized China’s “provocative actions” in the South China Sea on a visit to Manila, as he reaffirmed the US security commitment to the Philippines.
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Blinken said Tuesday the US and other nations have rallied to support the Philippines after Chinese vessels have blocked, closely shadowed and used water cannons on Philippine vessels in the disputed waterway. He also said the world has seen China’s actions in the South China Sea as a violation of international law.
“We have a shared concern about the PRC’s actions that threaten our common vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, including in the South China Sea,” Blinken said in Manila alongside the Philippines’ Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, using the formal name for the People’s Republic of China.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters during a regular press briefing in Beijing that “the US is not a party to the South China Sea issue and has no right to intervene in the maritime issues between China and the Philippines.”
Earlier this month, the Philippines and China both protested after their ships collided in the South China Sea, worsening tensions between the two nations.
Read more: Philippines, China Trade Protests After Ships Collide Again
The collision between the coast guard ships took place during a Philippine military resupply operation that also saw two Chinese coast guard vessels deploy water cannons against a Philippines-chartered supply boat, Manila’s task force on the disputed sea said in a statement. Four crew members of the Philippine supply boat were injured.
China’s coast guard said in a statement that it took “control measures in accordance with the law against Philippine ships that illegally intruded into the waters” near Ren’ai Reef, also known as Second Thomas Shoal.
--With assistance from Colum Murphy.
(Updates with comments from China’s Foreign Ministry in paragraph four.)
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