BLINKEN WARNS CHINA: DEESCALATE WPS TENSIONS

NSC: BEIJING INVENTED NEW VERSION OF ‘AYUNGIN DEAL’

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he warned China directly about its assertive moves around the Philippines and vowed to defend its oldest treaty ally in the region.

“I made clear that while the US will continue to de-escalate tensions, our defense commitments to the Philippines remain ironclad,” Blinken told reporters in Beijing.

Blinken, who met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, said he raised Beijing’s “dangerous actions in the South China Sea” during meetings with top leaders.

During his visit to Manila last month, Blinken said: “Repeated violations of international law and the rights of the Philippines – water cannons, blocking maneuvers, close shadowing, other dangerous operations – these waterways are critical to the Philippines, to its security, to its economy, but they’re also critical to the interests of the region, the United States, and the world.”

“We stand together in our determination to uphold international law – for the Philippines, for everyone else – against any provocative actions,” he added.

For its part, the National Security Council on Saturday said the “new model” of the so-called gentleman’s agreement between Manila and Beijing is just a “new invention” of China amid the ongoing Balikatan military exercises between the Philippines and the United States.

“This ‘new model’ announced by the Chinese Embassy is nothing more than a new invention,” National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said in a statement.

“Every now and then, China has a new narrative about alleged arrangements in the West Philippine Sea. First, it was the alleged ‘promise’ which then became the ‘gentleman’s agreement’ and now the latest version, the ‘new model’ or ‘internal understanding,’” Año said.