Marcos: Not the right time to invoke Philippine-US Mutual Defense Treaty
PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. asserted on Wednesday that it is not the right time for the Philippines to invoke its mutual defense treaty with the United States even as China’s coast guard resorted to violent actions that damaged Philippine vessels and injured Filipino navy personnel. in the South China Sea on Tuesday.
Other countries, including the US, have condemned China’s firing of water cannons at Filipino vessels on a resupply mission to a Philippine detachment in an area well within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The US said it was in talks with the Philippines following the incident, amid questions on whether there’s reason to activate their 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, which compels both countries to defend each other in case of an armed attack.
Mr. Marcos said he did not think the Chinese Coast Guard’s latest acts of aggression were enough reason to activate Manila’s treaty with the nation that arguably has the world’s most powerful military.
Still, the Philippines views with “great alarm” the Chinese vessels’ “continuing dangerous maneuvers and actions,” the President told reporters before his return to Manila from a threeday special summit between Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Earlier in the day, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller released a statement of condemnation of China’s actions and reiterated that the treaty covers “armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft — including those of its Coast Guard — anywhere in the South China Sea.”
On Tuesday, water cannons from two Chinese Coast Guard vessels shattered the windshield of Unaizah Mae 4, one of the two civilian boats contracted by the Philippine Navy for the resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era vessel that Manila deliberately grounded at Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to assert its maritime claims.
The incident caused injuries to “at least four personnel on board,” according to the Philippines’ National Security Council (NSC).
Before the water cannon attacks, a Chinese coast guard vessel executed “dangerous maneuvers” against Philippine Coast Guard’s BRP Sindangan, which was escorting the resupply boat, leading to a minor collision that resulted in “superficial structural damage” to the hull of the escort ship.
The other supply boat, Unaizah Mae 1, managed to deliver supplies to BRP Sierra Madre on Tuesday.
“This time, they damaged the cargo ship and caused some injury to some of our seamen and I think that we cannot view this in any way but in the most serious way,” Mr. Marcos said.
“Once again, we will make our objections known and hope that we can continue to communicate to find a way so that such actions are no longer seen in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Mr. Miller said the Philippines and the US were “in discussions” following the Tuesday incident.
Philippine Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ma. Teresita
C. Daza said in a briefing with security officials later in the day that “there are ongoing discussions and consultations between the Philippines and the US” on a number of cooperation, including those involving defense.
The Philippines has demanded that Chinese vessels immediately vacate the shoal, which is just 240 kilometers west of the Philippine main island of Luzon and is nearly 900 kilometers from Hainan, the nearest major Chinese landmass.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday summoned Chinese Deputy Chief of Mission Zhou Zhiyong to convey the Philippine government’s protest against the Chinese coast guard’s actions.
In a statement on Wednesday, Ms. Daza said: “The Philippines has made sincere efforts to implement leaders’ instructions to lessen tensions and have our Foreign Ministers and foreign ministries hold discussions. China, however, has made references to supposed agreements or arrangements out of these discussions.”
She said the Philippines has not entered into any agreement abandoning its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its EEZ and continental shelf, including in the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal. —