China Issues Warning to US Ally Over South China Sea Flashpoint

China has doubled down on its muscular presence within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, warning the U.S. ally to stop “stirring up trouble.”

Tuesday saw the third confrontation in a week in waters near the disputed Sabina Shoal, with the Chinese coast guard and navy warships moving to block a Philippine supply mission to the coast guard ship that has been anchored at the feature for months.

Two days earlier, a Chinese coast guard confronted a Philippine fisheries bureau vessel with water cannons and up-close maneuvers, reportedly damaging its engine. Both countries blamed the other for the collision, with Philippine Defense Chief Gilbert Teodoro on Tuesday labeling China “the biggest disrupter of peace in Southeast Asia.”

China’s sovereignty claims, which extend to most of the trade-heavy South China Sea, overlap not only with those of the Philippines but also with Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Beijing has dismissed as illegal a 2016 ruling by an international tribunal that rejected these sweeping claims.

Asked during the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s daily news conference to respond, spokesperson Lin Jian said, “Who has kept carrying out infringement and provocations in the South China Sea? Who has brought in forces from outside the region to disrupt regional peace and stability?”

“Countries in the region are clear-eyed. China is the last one that can be accused of ‘disrupting peace,'” Lin added. He said the Philippine people should “face up to the root cause of the issue” and to stop “calling white black and falsely accusing China.”

Beijing has frequently accused Manila of involving third countries in their territorial dispute and of acting as a pawn in U.S. efforts to contain China.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday took aim at China’s behavior toward nearby countries.

“There’s little ‘love thy neighbor’ in China’s ‘good neighbor’ policy. A Chinese surveillance plane recently violating Japanese airspace, Chinese coast guard cutters repeatedly ramming and firing water cannons at Philippine ships, and a Chinese fighter dropping flares at an Australian helicopter tell the true story,” Emanuel wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

China’s Foreign Ministry and the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to written requests for comment.

Both China and the Philippines suspect the other of expansion at Sabina Shoal, which sits within the Philippines’ EEZ and just 75 nautical miles (86 miles) from its Palawan Province.

The BRP Teresa Magbanua, one of the Philippines’ largest coast guard cutters, has been anchoring in Sabina Shoal’s lagoon since April after the discovery of piles of crushed corals. This has fueled suspicion in Manila that China planned to build out the feature as it has in other parts of the contested Spratly Islands.

China has said the Teresa Magbanua’s presence amounts to an “illegal” semi-permanent occupation and ramped up efforts to keep additional vessels from reaching it.

“They (The Philippines) likely suspect that China would not allow the ship back in if it leaves, which is almost certainly correct,” Ray Powell, director of Stanford University’s SeaLight Project, told Newsweek.

Speaking at a conference in Manila on Tuesday, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Samuel Paparo, said Washington is considering escorting Philippine ships in the South China Sea, “within the context of consultations.”

The Philippines is the U.S.’s oldest ally in Asia, and the countries share a Mutual Defense Treaty that President Joe Biden has called “ironclad.”