Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who also chairs the national maritime council, said the confrontation between Philippine navy sailors and the Chinese coast guard “was probably a misunderstanding or an accident”.
“We are not yet ready to classify this as an armed attack,” Bersamin told a briefing. “I think this is a matter that can easily be resolved by us and if China wants to work with us, we can work with China.”
China’s foreign ministry disputed the Philippines’ account, with a spokesperson saying on Thursday that the necessary measures taken were lawful, professional and beyond reproach.
China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Philippines has a mutual defence treaty with the United States, and U.S. officials including President Joe Biden have reaffirmed its “ironclad” defence commitments against any attack on Philippine aircraft and vessels in the South China Sea.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a call with the Philippines’ foreign minister on Wednesday, “underscored the United States’ ironclad commitments to the Philippines under the Mutual Defense Treaty.
Andres Centino, a presidential assistant for maritime concerns, said invoking the treaty was not considered in discussions.
The council, however, had recommended to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that its resupply missions to the disputed shoal should be announced and continue to be “scheduled regularly”.
