China and the Philippines regularly clash in the South China Sea. A US admiral is reminded of the beginning of the Ukraine war.
The conflict between China and the states bordering the South China Sea continues to escalate. Last weekend, Beijing said it sent “combat patrols” to the region after the US, Australia, Japan and the Philippines began joint naval and air exercises there.
Beijing considers almost the entire South China Sea to be part of its territory, including atolls thousands of kilometers from mainland China and within the exclusive economic zones of the Philippines and other countries. Important shipping routes pass through the area, through which a large part of world trade is carried out. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague rejected China's claims in 2016, but Beijing regularly sends its coast guard ships to the area to enforce its territorial claims. There are regular collisions with ships from the Philippines.
US admiral 'very concerned' about China's behavior in South China Sea
“These actions are dangerous, illegal and destabilizing the region,” said US Admiral John Aquilino, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, which is responsible for the region. China's threatening gestures toward the Philippines are "a unilateral action by a strong nation to impose its will and goals on another nation in the region," Aquilino said on Tuesday in Sydney at an event hosted by the Australian think tank Lowy Institute. China's actions remind him "a bit of Russia and Ukraine." Aquilino continued that he was “very, very concerned about the direction in which this is going.”
He is particularly concerned about China's behavior on Second Thomas Shoal, a reef that is part of the Spratly Island claimed by China, the Philippines and other countries and is located almost 200 kilometers west of the Philippine island of Palawan. The Philippines operates an outpost on the reef, based on a ship that was intentionally grounded there.
According to the Philippines, several people were injured there at the beginning of March after Chinese coast guard ships fired water cannons at Filipino boats and caused a collision. China, in turn, accuses the Philippines of provocative behavior. “What’s next and how far are they willing to go there?” asked Aquilino at the event in Sydney, referring to China. There is also a risk that the situation will unintentionally get out of control.
China on Wednesday rejected Aquilino's claims. The disputed islands have “always been part of Chinese territory,” said a Foreign Office spokeswoman. “The recent heightened tensions in the South China Sea have a lot to do with US interference. If the US truly wants peace and stability in the South China Sea, it should stop stoking tensions, forming gangs and fomenting confrontation.”
China has territorial disputes with many neighbors
The US admiral, who has around 375,000 soldiers under his command, believes that Beijing's behavior in the region follows a pattern. Beijing is showing the same behavior throughout the South China Sea, where Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, among others, also have overlapping territorial claims with China, as well as in the East China Sea. China and Japan are fighting over the Diaoyu and Senkaku Islands. Beijing also has territorial disputes with India. “It’s about China gaining territory unilaterally and by force,” said Aquilino.
After a telephone conversation between US President Joe Biden and China's head of state and party leader Xi Jinping at the beginning of April, the situation in the South China Sea has recently calmed down again, Aquilino continued. “And we have to ensure that it stays that way.” His job as an admiral is to prevent conflicts in the region. “And if I fail to fight and win.”
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