US Treaty Ally Intercepts Chinese Warships Near Coast: Video
Newsweek reached out to China's Foreign Ministry by email with a request for comment.
The neighbors are locked in a territorial dispute over China's expanding coast guard and naval presence inside Manila's exclusive economic zone, an area that extends 230 miles from the Philippine territorial sea. The U.S. ally alone is entitled to patrol in the zone under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which both the Philippines and China are signatories.
An estimated one-third of the world's ship-borne trade passes through the South China Sea each year. It is the subject of competing claims by several countries, including China.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Philippine coast guard (PCG) spokesperson Jay Tarriela said the agency deployed its largest vessel, the BRP Teresa Magbanua, to intercept Chinese electronic surveillance ship the Tianwangxing.
The vessel was detected about 80 miles off the coast of Cabra Island, in the Philippine province of Occidental Mindoro.
Video released by the Philippine coast guard captured a radio broadcast informing the Chinese ship that it was not authorized to operate in those waters and ordering it to leave.
The Tianwangxing did not react but its Chinese coast guard escort responded by asserting Beijing's claim to the area.
As of 11:00 a.m. Saturday, the Chinese ships had been joined by a second People's Liberation Army Navy vessel—guided-missile destroyer Guilin—which deployed its onboard helicopter in what Tarriela said were landing exercises.
"The PCG remains steadfast in its mission to uphold Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in its maritime zones, especially in the West Philippine Sea, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the 2016 Arbitral Award, and the Philippine Maritime Zones Act," Tarriela said.
The West Philippine Sea is Manila's term for those parts of the South China Sea that fall within its exclusive economic zone.
The arbitral award he referenced is a 2016 ruling by a Hague-based tribunal that rejected most of China's expansive maritime claims. Beijing refused to participate in the proceedings and continues to reject the ruling.
Cabra Island is situated nearly 800 miles from China's southernmost province, Hainan.
Chinese state-affiliated think tank South China Sea Strategic Probing Initiative wrote on X: "Wow! How brave PCG is! However, what right does the PCG have to intercept a Chinese military vessel in this area?"
The Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Sunday: "Today, the Philippines commemorates the ninth anniversary of the landmark ruling on the South China Sea Arbitration.
"Since its promulgation by the Arbitral Tribunal, this Arbitral Award continues to serve as a guide for the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law and its dispute settlement mechanisms, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea..."
China is likely to continue sending maritime forces into the Philippine EEZ, in what analysts say is a bid to normalize their presence there.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is expected to continue challenging the Chinese ships and publicizing their movements. Marcos vowed in 2024 not to cede "one square inch" of Philippine territory to any foreign power.
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