BEIJING - China has warned the Philippines to “make a rational choice” following Manila’s recent efforts to challenge Beijing’s South China Sea claims.
Videos released by the Philippine Coast Guard showed Chinese ships blasting water cannon at Philippine boats in December, and there was a collision between vessels from the two countries during tense clashes at flashpoint reefs.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Dec 21 said: “We hope that the Philippines can make a rational choice, follow the effective way of getting along with neighbours, and work with China to properly handle and manage the current maritime situation.”
His comments at a regular press briefing followed a phone call in which China’s top diplomat Wang Yi told Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo that the two countries were “facing serious difficulties”, blaming Manila for changing its policies.
“Wang Yi said China-Philippines relations are currently facing serious difficulties,” a readout released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry said late on Dec 20.
“The root cause is that the Philippines has changed its longstanding policy stance, reneged on its own commitments, continued to provoke and stir trouble at sea, and undermined China’s legal rights.
“China-Philippines relations are at a crossroads. Faced with the choice of where to go, the Philippines must act with caution,” the readout said.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea and has ignored an international tribunal ruling that its assertions have no legal basis.
It deploys boats to patrol the busy waterway and has built artificial islands it has militarised to reinforce its claims.
Mr Manalo described his call with Mr Wang as “frank and candid”, according to a readout released by the Philippine Foreign Ministry on Dec 21.
“We had a frank and candid exchange and ended our call with a clearer understanding of our respective positions on a number of issues,” the readout quoted Mr Manalo as saying. “We both noted the importance of dialogue in addressing these issues.”
Relations between Manila and Beijing have frayed under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who has sought to improve ties with traditional ally Washington and deepen defence cooperation in the region, while also pushing back against Chinese actions in the South China Sea.
The Philippines summoned China’s envoy on Dec 11 and flagged the possibility of expelling him following the latest clashes.
The videos released by the Philippines were of incidents during two separate resupply missions to fishermen at Scarborough Shoal and a tiny garrison at Second Thomas Shoal the previous weekend.
There was also a collision between Philippine and Chinese boats at Second Thomas Shoal, where a handful of Filipino troops are stationed on a grounded warship, with both countries trading blame.
Mr Marcos met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in November on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in San Francisco, where the pair discussed the maritime territorial disputes.
Mr Marcos later told a forum in Hawaii that the Philippines would not give up “a single square inch of our territory”. AFP
