Allies and Partners across the Indo-Pacific condemned the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) dangerous and escalating aggression in the South China Sea in June, and the Philippines sought to diffuse tensions with a dash of diplomacy.
“We still believe [in] the primacy of dialogue, and diplomacy should prevail even in the face of these serious incidents,” Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo told lawmakers, according to the Philippine News Agency.
United States Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said the Philippines is being “very cautious at this juncture.”
“They do not seek a crisis with China. They are seeking dialogue,” Campbell said at a Council of Foreign Relations event in Washington, D.C., the Washington Post newspaper reported.
Tensions surged in mid-June 2024 when Chinese coast guard boats rammed and boarded Philippine Navy vessels attempting to resupply the Sierra Madre, the ship that serves as a Philippine military outpost at Second Thomas Shoal. The confrontation severely injured a Philippine Sailor and damaged Philippine boats. Videos of Chinese coast guard personnel wielding axes, machetes and other sharp objects sparked international outrage and condemnation from Canada, Great Britain, South Korea, the U.S. and others.
The Philippines protested the PRC’s actions but exercised self-restraint. Manila did not retaliate, characterize the confrontation as an armed attack nor invoke the country’s mutual defense treaty with the U.S, which reiterated an ironclad commitment to Philippine security.
The PRC claims almost the entire South China Sea, despite an international tribunal’s 2016 ruling invalidating the assertion. Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also stake South China Sea claims. The PRC has harassed Indonesian, Malaysian and Vietnamese vessels and obstructed oil and gas operations in the nations’ waters as it tries to assert vast sovereignty claims.
To impose the illegal claim at Second Thomas Shoal and surrounding areas, Chinese coast guard vessels increasingly ram, block and fire water cannons at Philippine resupply boats. Civilian fishing crews also face routine harassment. The PRC instituted coast guard regulations in mid-June 2024 contending it can detain foreign ships and crews “trespassing” in what the PRC unlawfully asserts is its maritime territory.
Manalo said the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs is working to convene a dialogue with the PRC to create confidence-building measures (CBMs) to potentially reduce tensions. CBMs include agreements among two or more entities on information exchanges and verification processes covering military forces, weapons and equipment. The measures strive to increase transparency and clarify the intention of military or other activities. A notable example is the November 2023 agreement by the U.S. and the PRC to resume military-to-military conversations after a nearly 18-month communication gap.
Whatever CBMs are achieved, Manalo said, “they will be not at the expense of the promotion of our sovereignty, sovereign rights as well as our rights and jurisdiction” in the South China Sea.
“We will pursue the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international laws …,” Manalo said. “We have been working hard to bring back China to the table to talk with us to resolve differences on these issues.”
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. lauded the Armed Forces of the Philippines and awarded medals to the 80 troops involved in the confrontation, commending their restraint in response to illegal PRC actions.
“So, as we award these medals,” Marcos said, according to the Manila Bulletin newspaper, “we remember that on June 17th, we made a conscious and deliberate choice to remain in the path of peace.”
