Washington has declared it will stand alongside its ally Manila against the dangerous actions of China's coast guard and maritime militia in the Second Thomas Shoal area of the South China Sea.
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Chinese coast guard vessel and Philippine coast guard vessel. (Source: AFP) |
The U.S. State Department issued a statement on August 5 saying Washington would stand with its ally Manila in the face of dangerous actions by China's coast guard and maritime militia in the Second Thomas Shoal area of the South China Sea on the same day.
By using water cannons and employing unsafe maneuvers, Chinese vessels have obstructed the Philippines' legitimate exercise of freedom of navigation at sea, endangering the Southeast Asian nation's ships and crews.
The statement said that such actions by China are inconsistent with international law and are the latest in a series of repeated threats to the status quo in the South China Sea, directly jeopardizing regional peace and stability.
The July 2016 ruling by the International Arbitration Tribunal affirmed that China had not made a legitimate claim to the maritime area surrounding Second Thomas Shoal, which lies within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone.
The US reiterated that, under the provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the arbitration ruling is final and legally binding on China and the Philippines.
Washington calls on Beijing to abide by the arbitration ruling and respect freedom of navigation – a right that all nations possess.
The U.S. State Department reiterated that an armed attack on Philippine patrol vessels, aircraft, and armed forces, including the Southeast Asian nation's Coast Guard, in the South China Sea would trigger Washington's mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.
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