Philippines says China ‘biggest disruptor’ of peace in Southeast Asia

A China Coast Guard vessel (R) is seen near the Philippine Coast Guard ship BRP Cape Engaño as it takes part in a supply mission to Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea – Copyright AFP Jam Sta Rosa

China is the “biggest disruptor” of peace in Southeast Asia, the Philippine defence chief said Tuesday, as tensions between Manila and Beijing over disputed reefs and waters in the South China Sea escalate.

Gilberto Teodoro made the remarks at a conference of the US Indo-Pacific Command after repeated confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the waterway over the past 12 months. 

Beijing claims almost the entirety of the sea, brushing aside rival claims by other countries, including the Philippines, and an international ruling that its stance has no legal basis.

China’s claims include reefs and waters inside the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends about 370 kilometres (200 nautical miles) from the country’s coastal waters.

“China… is the biggest disruptor of international peace in the ASEAN region,” Teodoro said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. 

China deploys boats to patrol the busy waterway and has built artificial islands that it has militarised to reinforce its claims.

Speaking to reporters, Teodoro urged other countries to call out China’s “illegal acts” until it yields to pressure to stop its actions. 

“We need a collective consensus and a strong call out against China,” said Teodoro. 

“We are struggling against a more powerful adversary.”

His comments come a day after China said it took “control measures” against two Philippine Coast Guard ships that had entered waters near Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands.

The Philippine Coast Guard had sent two vessels to deliver provisions to one of its ships at the reef.

They were forced to abandon the mission due to China’s “excessive” deployment of ships and rough sea conditions, Commodore Jay Tarriela, a spokesman for Manila’s coast guard, told AFP on Monday.

Several confrontations have taken place in recent days around Sabina Shoal, located 140 kilometres (86 miles) west of the Philippine island of Palawan and about 1,200 kilometres from Hainan island, China’s nearest major landmass.

Both sides have stationed coast guard vessels at the shoal in recent months. Manila fears Beijing is about to build an artificial island.

Relations between the countries have frayed as Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos’s administration stands up to Chinese actions in the contested waters.

In June, the Philippine military said one of its sailors lost a thumb in a confrontation in which Beijing’s coast guard also confiscated or destroyed Philippine equipment including guns near Second Thomas Shoal, also in the Spratlys.