The Philippines has accused China of using bladed weapons in large-scale tensions in the South China Sea.

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CNN
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The Philippines has accused China's coast guard of carrying out a “brutal attack” with bladed weapons during a skirmish in the South China Sea earlier this week, a major escalation in a simmering dispute that has drawn the United States a And there is a risk of being dragged into a global conflict.

Footage released by the Philippine military on Thursday showed Chinese coast guard officers brandishing axes and other bladed or pointed tools at Filipino soldiers and slashing their rubber boat, which Manila described as “a brazen act of aggression.” Demonstration” said.

The Philippines and China blamed each other for Monday's clash near the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed Spratly Islands, during a Philippine mission to redeploy troops stationed aboard a World War II-era warship. occurred which asserted Manila's territorial claims. above the atoll.

The incident is the latest in a series of escalating clashes in the resource-rich and strategically important waterway.

But the scenes captured in the latest footage mark a turning point in long-simmering tensions, with China adopting new, far more overtly aggressive tactics, which analysts say undermine the Philippines and its key defenses. Allies — calculated to examine the United States. – Will answer.

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China claims “indisputable sovereignty” over almost all of the South China Sea, and most of the islands and sandbars within it, including many features hundreds of miles from mainland China. Several governments, including Manila, have competing claims.

Colin Koh, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said it was unprecedented for Chinese maritime law enforcement agencies to board a Philippine navy ship.

“They may be rubber boats, but that does not change the fact that they are vessels of the Philippine Navy, and according to international law, they enjoy what we call sovereign immunity,” Koh said. ” “It's very dangerous, because, if anything, it could be construed as an act of war.”

At a news conference Wednesday, senior Philippine military officials said Chinese coast guard officers “illegally boarded” Philippine rubber boats, “looting” seven separate rifles stored in gun cases. “destroyed” the outboard motor, communication and navigation equipment and took personal belongings. Cell phones of Filipino officials.

“They deliberately punctured our rubber boats using knives and other pointed instruments,” said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Command Commander Alfonso Torres Jr.

A Philippine Navy personnel aboard a rubber boat lost his right thumb when he was rammed by the Chinese coast guard, Torres said.

China's coast guard also deployed tear gas, “blinding” strobe lights and continuous blaring sirens, AFP reported.

“Only pirates do this. Only pirates steal and destroy ships, equipment and supplies,” Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Browner Jr. said in a statement.

“The Chinese Coast Guard personnel had bladed weapons and our personnel fought with their bare hands. That is what mattered. We were outnumbered and their weapons were unpredictable but our personnel fought with everything they had.” ,'' Browner added.

In a regular briefing with reporters on Thursday, China's foreign ministry was asked to comment on allegations by the Philippines that its ships were damaged by blade firing and tear gas firing by Chinese coast guard personnel.

Spokesman Lin Jian did not address the allegations, instead reiterating Beijing's claims on the other Thomas Shoal, known in China as Renai Jiao.

“The Philippine operation was not humanitarian aid at all. The Philippine ships were not only carrying construction materials but also smuggled weapons. They deliberately rammed Chinese ships and splashed water on them and Chinese law enforcement. throw things at officials,” Lin said.

What happens in the South China Sea has profound implications for the United States, which has a decades-old mutual defense treaty with the Philippines.

The latest clash is the first run-in between the two countries since China implemented a new law on Saturday that allows its coastguards to seize foreign ships and crew suspected of trespassing without trial for up to 60 days. I authorize detention.

It also comes weeks after Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. warned that the death of any Filipino citizen at the hands of another country in the waterway would be “very close” to war.

Marcos has sought closer ties with the United States, repeatedly stressing Washington's “ironclad commitment” to the 1951 mutual defense treaty between the United States and the Philippines, which stipulates that if a third party Both sides will help defend each other if attacked by either side.

“The United States stands with our ally the Philippines and condemns China's escalating and irresponsible actions,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Monday.

In a phone call with his Philippine counterpart, Enrique A. Manalo, on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blanken said China's actions, “undermine regional peace and stability and undermine America's commitment to the Philippines under our mutual defense agreement.” indicate commitments.”

Derek Grossman, a senior defense analyst at the US-based think tank RAND Corporation, said the footage released by the Philippines “clearly shows a Chinese attack on Philippine military assets”, which Washington and Manila defend. will mobilize mutual defense as agreed. Promises

“However, in practical terms, the Philippines will have to take action to activate it on its own before the United States intervenes militarily,” he said.

In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines' claims in a historic maritime dispute, concluding that China had no legal basis to claim historical rights over large swaths of the South China Sea. do not have.

But Beijing has ignored this decision. Instead it has increasingly pushed its maritime territorial claims, with Chinese coast guard ships – backed by militia boats – involved in a number of skirmishes over the past year that have damaged Philippine vessels. delivered and saw Filipino sailors injured by water cannons.

The decision by China's coast guard to use bladed weapons in the latest clash in the South China Sea has drawn comparisons to clashes between China and India along the disputed Himalayan border, where troops on both sides have used sticks, stones and their own hands. Has fought fiercely.

Koh said the Filipino personnel aboard the rubber boats are an elite force belonging to the Navy's Special Operations Group.

“They are trained to fight. They have not retaliated against the Chinese because they are just showing restraint. “They probably received instructions from above that they should fight the Chinese in any situation and let the situation prevail. Shouldn't get any worse.”

Footage released by the Philippine military also revealed another surprising development – that the skirmish took place right next to the BRP Sierra Madre, a rusty US-built Philippine Navy landing craft that was deliberately launched in 1999. was, on which the national flag was hoisted. , to assert Manila's territorial claims on the second Thomas Shoal.

Koh noted that this is the closest China's coast guard BRP has come to Sierra Madre.

“Under normal rules of engagement, the garrison would have fired warning shots,” he said. “The fact is that this incident did not escalate because the Philippines showed great restraint. That is a simple fact.”

Koh said China is trying to test both Manila and Washington “to find out where the red line is.”

“They wanted to see how far the United States was willing to pledge its security commitment to the Filipinos. And of course, I don't think Beijing is so stupid as to take all these steps at the prospect of making the situation worse. Didn't consider, but I'm sure it was a risk they decided to take.