South China Sea: Beijing, Manila agree to manage differences ‘to better deal with urgent situations’
- Senior officials vow to ‘especially manage the situation’ at Second Thomas Shoal during talks in Shanghai, according to Beijing
- Relations are tense after Philippine leader congratulated Taiwan’s president-elect and following months of friction over the reef
During the latest bilateral consultative mechanism meeting in Shanghai on Wednesday, senior officials from the two countries agreed to “further improve maritime communication and properly manage their differences through consultation … to better deal with urgent situations at sea, especially manage the situation at Renai Reef”, the Chinese readout said, using the Chinese name for Second Thomas Shoal.
“[The two sides] would continue to promote practical cooperation at sea, so as to create favourable conditions for the healthy and stable development of China-Philippines relations,” the statement said.
04:30
Philippines sets up ‘game changer’ monitoring station on island in disputed South China Sea
During the “frank and in-depth” negotiations, the two sides agreed it was in the interests of both nations to maintain stability in the South China Sea, and that keeping up communication was crucial to achieve that.
The South China Sea and Taiwan may be twin powder kegs, but which is riskier?
Beijing sees the self-ruled island as part of China to be reunified, by force if necessary, and is strongly opposed to any official exchanges between Taiwan and foreign governments.
Most countries, including the United States and the Philippines, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the island by force, and the Philippines, which at its outermost is only 142km from Taiwan, has expressed concerns over tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
According to the Chinese readout, Beijing “lodged solemn representations to the Philippine side” on the Taiwan issue during Wednesday’s meeting, while Manila “reiterated its adherence to the one-China policy”.
Relations between Beijing and Manila have been deteriorating since last year after Marcos shifted away from his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte’s pivot towards China and moved significantly closer to the US – a treaty ally – and other “like-minded countries” including Australia, Japan, Britain and Canada.
Marcos has also said his country’s diplomatic efforts with Beijing were headed “in a poor direction” and that a “paradigm shift” was needed in how to deal with the South China Sea disputes.
02:41
Marcos Jnr says China showing interest in South China Sea atolls that lie close to the Philippines
The risk of conflict has been rising near the contested Second Thomas Shoal – a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea – in recent months. China’s coastguard has repeatedly blocked Philippine resupply missions to an outpost on the Sierra Madre, a crumbling warship the Philippines deliberately grounded in 1999 to boost its sovereignty claim over the Spratlys.
The Philippine coastguard accused China of firing water cannon and ramming resupply vessels, while China’s coastguard claimed the Philippine boats intentionally rammed its ships.
There are concerns that the frequent clashes, sometimes involving collisions, will escalate into a wider conflict in the South China Sea, which may not only disrupt global maritime trade but could draw in the US, which has reaffirmed that its mutual defence treaty with the Philippines would extend to any armed attack in the contested waters.
Philippines to ramp up military ties amid China’s ‘gutter-level talk’: minster
In an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Philippine Defence Minister Gilberto Teodoro Jnr said his country was planning “more robust” military activities with the US and its allies in the face of a “more aggressive” China.
He also urged Washington not to waver in its defence strategy in the Indo-Pacific as the US heads into a crucial election in November.
In response, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Thursday said the Philippines’ alliances with these countries “should not undermine China’s lawful rights and interests in the South China Sea”.
