The United States on Saturday called on Beijing to end its "provocative and dangerous" actions in the disputed waters of the South China Sea after a last-minute collision between a Chinese coast guard vessel and a Philippine vessel was averted. An armed attack in the Pacific Ocean, which includes the South China Sea, against Philippine armed forces, ships or aircraft, including the Coast Guard, would result in the application of the United States' mutual defense commitments to the Philippines, based on a treaty of 1951.
di Nicola e Gabriele Iuvinale
"We ask Beijing to renounce its provocative and dangerous actions," US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement, reiterating Washington's firm support for its "ally" the Philippines.
The United States therefore recalled that an armed attack in the Pacific Ocean, which includes the South China Sea, against the Philippine Armed Forces, public vessels or aircraft, including the Coast Guard, would result in the application of the mutual defense commitments of the United States to the Philippines, based on a 1951 treaty.
The incident, which raised tensions between Beijing and Manila, occurred near the Spratly Islands, a day after talks in Manila between Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to defuse their differences. disputed waters.
This in the context in which the Philippine president is expected in Washington on Monday to be received by his counterpart, Joe Biden, in the White House.
Beijing claims nearly all of the South China Sea, ignoring a 2016 international ruling that its claims have no legal basis.
China has redeveloped and militarized there, over the past decade, thousands of hectares of cliffs where airstrips, harbors and radar systems have appeared.
According to an Agence France Presse team on another Philippine ship, the Chinese coast guard vessel blocked the path of the Philippine coast guard and the collision was avoided at the last moment. The episode is the latest in a long series.
“The images and video recordings recently released in the media are clear reminders that the People's Republic of China harasses and intimidates Philippine vessels conducting routine patrols in their exclusive economic zone,” the US State Department also denounced.
China has responded to the incident by accusing the Philippines of "deliberately" causing it. Manila stressed that "routine patrols in our own waters cannot be considered premeditated or provocative" and represent "a legal right that we have exercised and will continue to exercise".
Source: Adevarul.ro
Photo: La Cina di Xi Jinping - Verso un nuovo ordine mondiale sinocentrico? (Italian)
Gabriele and Nicola Iuvinale
ASE 2023
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