Collision between Chinese and Philippine ships in the South China Sea brings war tensions in the region to a head

June 20, 2024

On June 17, a Chinese coast guard ship and a Philippine naval vessel collided in the disputed waters of the South China Sea during a resupply mission by the Philippine armed forces. Confirmed details are still scarce, but several Filipino sailors are reported to have been injured. The Chinese coast guard boarded the Philippine vessel and confiscated weapons from the Philippine troops.

The Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP BAGACAY (MRRV-4410) is fired upon by the Chinese Coast Guard with water cannons as it attempted to approach the waters near Scarborough Reef, locally known as Bajo De Masinloc, in the South China Sea on April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Philippine Coast Guard)

Tensions in the South China Sea, like in much of the world, have reached a boiling point. They are being fuelled above all by the warmongering of US imperialism. Washington is using the conflict to strongly condemn China, and other imperialist powers have followed suit.

On June 15, an amendment to China’s Coast Guard Law came into effect, allowing the Chinese Coast Guard to seize foreign vessels and detain crews suspected of entering waters claimed by China for up to 30 days, or an additional 30 days in the case of a “complex” investigation. The result of the amendment is that China’s Coast Guard vessels can now conduct law enforcement operations at their own discretion in waters claimed by China. The amended law has enormous potential for escalating conflict in the South and East China Seas.

Washington saw the new code not as a threat of escalating the conflict, but as an opportunity. On June 16, before the letter of the law had been finalized, the United States sent a guided missile destroyer to cross the South China Sea, along with a Philippine ship and a ship from the Canadian and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces. This was an unprecedented joint crossing of the region and the first time Canada had participated in such exercises.

Manila announced increased patrols in the disputed waters in response to the revised Chinese law. The island dispatched a resupply mission to Second Thomas Reef, where Chinese coast guard vessels were lurking.

In 1999, the Philippine Navy ran the BRP Sierra Madre, a US-built ship transferred to the Philippine Armed Forces, aground on Second Thomas Reef and stationed soldiers on the abandoned hull. This sloppy base operation, more reminiscent of Robinson Crusoe than any recognizable military installation, has become the center of tensions in the disputed South China Sea.

Manila’s repeated resupply missions for the few soldiers on the Second Thomas Reef were once symbolic declarations of sovereignty; today they are provocations, each one a deliberate, even staged, confrontation with Chinese ships. Monday’s collision was the worst so far.

The Chinese coast guard reported on Monday that a Philippine supply ship “ignored China’s repeated stern warning” and “deliberately and dangerously” approached a Chinese vessel in an “unprofessional manner”, leading to the collision. “The Philippines bears full responsibility for this,” they claimed.

The Philippine military remained silent on the incident for twelve hours. No statements were made to the press.

The Pentagon intervened and issued a statement on June 17. While the Philippine government remained silent, the US military announced that a Filipino sailor was injured and Philippine ships were damaged. This information was relayed to US Naval Institute (USNI) News by US Department of Defense spokesman Army Major Pete Nguyen.

USNI initially wrote: “Although the Pentagon referred USNI News to the Philippine government for further details, Manila has not released any footage or a timeline of events.”

However, Jay Tarriela, spokesman for the Philippine National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, posted a carefully edited video on Twitter/X on Thursday that purports to show “how blatantly they (China) are using physical attacks and violence to prevent our soldiers from completing the legitimate and humanitarian resupply mission for our troops aboard the BRP Sierra Madre.” The West Philippine Sea is the name given to parts of the South China Sea that are used to claim sovereignty over much of the region and sow nationalist divisions.

The stories that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) tell the press are getting more and more exciting with each new story. The Filipino soldiers, the AFP claims, fought off the Chinese with their “bare hands.” They reported that a soldier of the Philippine Navy was “seriously injured” in the collision. By Wednesday, the number of reported injuries had risen from one to eight, one of whom is said to have even lost his thumb.

Washington is already using the incident to indulge in war cries. Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder called China’s actions “provocative” and “reckless” and said it “could lead to something bigger and more violent.”

US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, speaking to Philippine Secretary of State Maria Theresa Lazaro, said the 1951 US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) “covers armed attacks against Philippine military forces, public vessels or aircraft – including those of the Coast Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea.”

Article IV of the MDT, which Campbell cites, states that an “armed attack on either party in the Pacific would pose a threat to their peace and security” and would be met “in accordance with their constitutional procedures.” Over the past 15 years, Washington has sought to push Manila into an increasingly provocative role, portraying the language in Article IV as an “ironclad” mutual commitment to go to war against China.

Campbell’s statement sought to expand the “Pacific region” to include “all areas in the South China Sea” — these are distinct bodies of water — and included much of the territory that neither Manila nor Washington claims. He further expanded Washington’s supposed obligation by including Philippine Coast Guard vessels. With these historically unfounded claims, Washington is provoking Manila into provoking a war with China.

The US State Department issued a separate statement saying that “the dangerous and deliberate use of water cannon, ramming and blocking maneuvers, and the towing of damaged Philippine vessels by the vessels of the People’s Republic of China endangers the lives of Filipino soldiers, is reckless, and threatens regional peace and stability.”

Washington poses a greater threat to regional and global peace than any other actor. It has deployed medium-range missiles in the northern Philippines aimed at China. China has no comparable missiles in any other country, let alone in a country as close to the United States as Cuba. Washington has opened military bases in the Philippines under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and is conducting operations from there that are blatantly preparing for war with China in the South China Sea.

Following Washington’s example, the embassies of New Zealand, South Korea, Britain and Canada issued statements condemning China’s actions. Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. told the press: “China’s dangerous and reckless behavior in the West Philippine Sea will be opposed by the AFP.”

Pictures of the confrontation taken by the Chinese coast guard and published on the Chinese news site, Global timesare revealing. The majority of the vessels involved were very small boats, including inflatable boats. The Pentagon, which has just sent a guided missile destroyer through the region, is resorting to the language of war, even though this is a confrontation between vessels, the majority of which are no larger than a school bus.

Vietnam, which also claims a significant portion of the South China Sea, has accelerated its process of island reclamation over the past year, conducting dredging operations similar to China’s and carrying out resupply missions similar to those of the Philippines. However, tensions between China and Vietnam remain at a far lower level. Tensions between China and the Philippines are fueled primarily by the United States.

Pressure from Washington has brought Philippine politics to the brink of open war, with lawmakers close to Washington’s warmongering campaign waging a racist witch hunt against alleged Chinese spies in the country. Vice President Sara Duterte, who is closely linked to the China-leaning sections of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte’s bourgeoisie, resigned from the Marcos cabinet on Wednesday and served as both education secretary and vice-chair of the government’s anti-communist task force. This is widely seen as the start of a power struggle between American and China-leaning sections of the political establishment.