(Reuters) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned the Philippines that any miscalculation in their escalating South China Sea dispute would bring a resolute response, and called for dialogue to address the “serious difficulties” between the two neighbors.
Beijing and Manila have exchanged blistering accusations in recent months over a succession of conflicts in the South China Sea, including accusations that China rammed a ship earlier this month carrying the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
China, for its part, has accused the Philippines of invading its territory.
The fraying of relations coincides with Manila’s initiatives to increase military ties with Japan and the United States, its former colonial power and defense ally for seven decades.
“Relations between China and the Philippines are at a crossroads,” Wang told his Filipino counterpart Enrique Manalo in a phone call on Wednesday, according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry. A ministry spokesman said Manalo had requested the call.
If the Philippines misjudges or colludes with “malicious” external forces, China will defend its rights and respond resolutely, Wang said. The statement did not go into detail about what measures might be taken.
Wang’s remarks could intensify a dispute that has been dragging on for years, with the Philippines reacting to what it sees as a Chinese campaign to prevent its access to fossil fuels and fishing resources in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
An escalation towards an armed confrontation, although unlikely, would be a significant increase in the risks, since the United States is obliged by a 1951 treaty to defend the Philippines in the event of an attack, including in the South China Sea.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in a speech to the troops on Thursday, said the country remained committed to strengthening its Armed Forces and its existing alliances, while citing the incident involving the head of the Armed Forces as worrying.
“You have become crucial, as in recent years the Philippines has found itself in the middle of geopolitical developments and tensions that could potentially cause regional insecurity,” he told the group gathered at military headquarters in Manila.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea through the so-called nine-dash line that overlaps the EEZs of the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia.
In 2016, an international arbitration court invalidated China’s claim in a ruling on a case brought by the Philippines, which Beijing did not recognize.
Instead, China has redoubled its attention, maintaining a strong coast guard presence throughout the South China Sea, including around militarized artificial islands it has built on reefs in disputed waters, some with missile systems.
Both sides, at the same time, called for dialogue.
Manalo said in a statement that he had a frank and sincere conversation with Wang, in which both “noted the importance of dialogue”.
A spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday: “China’s position remains unchanged that disputes should be properly managed through dialogue and consultation.”
Marcos has strengthened ties with the United States, including expanding U.S. access to its military bases, while seeking assurances about the extent to which Washington will defend his country from attack — actions that have angered China and emboldened Manila’s top defense brass.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said Thursday that his country will likely also conduct multilateral patrols next year in the West Philippine Sea — the term the country uses for its 200-mile EEZ in the South China Sea.
A day earlier, Teodoro rebuked China and said that “no country in the world” supports China’s maritime claim. The United States and other Western powers have condemned China’s coastguard for confronting and blocking Philippine vessels in Manila’s EEZ.
*** Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) ***