US reaffirms MDT obligation amid China-PH collision in WPS

The United States on Monday reaffirmed its commitment to defend the Philippines under their Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) after Philippine officials said a China Coast Guard vessel collided with a Philippine resupply boat off Ayungin Shoal.

In a statement, the US State Department said Washington "stands with our Philippine allies in the face of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Coast Guard and maritime militia's dangerous and unlawful actions obstructing an October 22 Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea."

"The United States reaffirms that Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, and aircraft – including those of its Coast Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea," it said.

Second Thomas Shoal is the international name of Ayungin, where a Philippine World War II-era vessel, BRP Sierra Madre, has been grounded since 1999.

The Philippines maintains a small navy personnel on BRP Sierra Madre to guard the territory, which is 105.77 nautical miles from the nearest Philippine province of Palawan and constitutes part of the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf as provided under a United Nations convention.

"By conducting dangerous maneuvers that caused collisions with Philippine resupply and Coast Guard ships, the PRC Coast Guard and maritime militia violated international law by intentionally interfering with the Philippine vessels' exercise of high seas freedom of navigation," the US State Department said.

Philippine government officials said the collision occurred while two Philippine supply boats escorted by two Philippine Coast Guard Vessels were heading to Ayungin to deliver food and other supplies to the military outpost.

Several near-collisions with Chinese ships and other dangerous maneuvers by its coast guard against Filipino vessels have frequently occured during routine Philippine resupply missions to the shoal, which is being claimed by China as part of its territory. 

Sunday's incident was the first time Philippine officials reported that a Filipino resupply boat was rammed by a Chinese ship. No Filipino crew member was reported injured and officials are currently assessing damage on the supply boat.

International support

Aside from the US, several other countries, including Canada, France, and Britain, have condemned the Chinese vessels' actions.

The European Union (EU) has called the incident dangerous and disturbing and joined the Philippines in calling for the full observance of international law in the South China Sea.

Philippine Security Adviser Eduardo M. Año on Sunday said the Philippines will not be deterred in its resupply efforts in the West Philippine Sea despite the collision incidents with China.

“We will not be deterred, and we will continue to resupply our troops in BRP Sierra Madre despite provocations," said Año.

Blaming the Philippines for the collision, China denied Manila's allegations, saying the supply vessel "trespassed" into Chinese waters "without authorization" despite repeated radio warnings to leave.

The Filipino boat was also carrying construction materials, it said.

China insists that the shoal, which it calls Ren'ai Reef, is part of China's Nansha Islands or what the Philippines refers to as Spratly Islands.

China also repeatedly demanded the removal of the BRP Sierra Madre from the shoal, adding the Philippine government in the past promised to pull out the vessel — a claim denied by Filipino officials.

Washington maintained that China's conduct "jeopardized Filipino crew members' safety and impeded critically needed supplies from reaching service members stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre."

"Obstructing supply lines to this longstanding outpost and interfering with lawful Philippine maritime operations undermines regional stability," the State Department said.

The US recognized that Second Thomas Shoal "is a feature well within the Philippine exclusive economic zone and on the Philippine continental shelf."

"An international tribunal’s July 2016 decision – legally binding on both the Philippines and PRC – made clear that 'there exists no legal basis for any entitlement by China to maritime zones in the area of Second Thomas Shoal,'" it noted.

"The same ruling affirmed that Second Thomas Shoal is a low-tide elevation outside the territorial sea of another high tide feature – as such, the PRC’s territorial claims to it are unfounded."

China's unsafe maneuvers on October 22 and its water cannoning of a Philippine vessel on August 5 "are the latest examples of provocative PRC measures in the South China Sea to enforce its expansive and unlawful maritime claims, reflecting disregard for other states lawfully operating in the region," the State Department said.

An international advocacy group that has been monitoring the South China Sea situation said that this is the first time they have seen such a collision in the West Philippine Sea.

"This one, in terms of how close the ships came to one another and actually the fact that they actually touched one another on at least two occasions that we know of, is certainly marking a serious escalation on China’s part," said Ray Powell, director of monitoring team SeaLight at Stanford University's Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation. —KBK, GMA Integrated News