The United States, the European Union, and other allies have expressed their support for the Philippines against Chinese intimidation in the West Philippine Sea. The most recent incident involved the Chinese Coast Guard attempting to stop a resupply mission for the BRP Sierra Madre outpost in Ayungin Shoal last Friday, using water cannons.

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the unfriendly actions of the CCG in Ayungin Shoal “are inconsistent with international law and follow a pattern of Beijing’s dangerous operational behavior in the South China Sea.”

“We stand with our Philippine ally,” Miller said in a statement yesterday. “The United States stands shoulder-to-shoulder with our Philippine ally in the face of the People’s Republic of China’s repeated harassment in the South China Sea,” he stressed.

He stated that the United States acknowledges the 2016 international tribunal verdict rejecting China’s broad claims to the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea), including Ayungin Shoal. He asked China to “respect the high seas freedoms of navigation guaranteed to all States under international law” and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

In addition, the US reaffirmed its commitment under the Mutual Defense Treaty to assist the Philippines in the event of armed strikes in the South China Sea.

“The United States reaffirms that Article IV of the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft – including those of its Coast Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea,” Miller said.

Following the United States, the European Union has expressed its support for the Philippines, with Ambassador Luc Véron reiterating the EU’s “support to the Philippines in its call for the full observance of International Law in the South China Sea.”

Andreas Pfaffernoschke, German Ambassador, expressed his country’s support for the Philippines in respecting international law.

“In view of (Friday’s) event in the South China Sea, Germany reiterates its support for the Philippines in advocating respect for international law in the South China Sea, as an essential pillar for peace and security,” Pfaffernoschke said.

New Zealand Ambassador Peter Kell also expressed “deep concern at the ongoing dangerous actions towards Philippine vessels at Second Thomas Shoal.”

“We call for all parties to refrain from actions which risk safety and undermine regional stability, and for peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with UNCLOS,” Kell added.

Any harassment, according to Japanese Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa, would only heighten tensions and jeopardize the stability of the Indo-Pacific region.

“We give high importance to a free and open maritime order based on the rule of law, as Japan and the Philippines discussed during Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit last week. Any harassment and actions which increase tensions are not tolerated,” Koshikawa said.

On the morning of November 10, Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels “recklessly harassed, blocked and executed dangerous maneuvers in another attempt to illegally impede or obstruct a routine resupply and rotation mission to BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal,” according to a report from the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea.

Beijing claimed Ayungin Shoal as “China’s Ren’ai Reef,” and insisted that the Philippine ships were the ones who “arbitrarily trespassed into the waters near China’s Ren’ai Reef.”

Photo: Philippine Coast Guard