Reuters-Philippines labels China as an aggressor fanning tensions in the South China Sea
October 23, 2023 3 min 509 words
菲律宾在南海指责中国为“侵略者”，称其“加剧了紧张局势”，并指责中国在一次补给任务中引发船只碰撞。虽然没有人在中国海警船和菲律宾小型补给船于周日接触时受伤，但该事件引发了国际谴责，美国表达了关切之情。菲律宾外交部发言人Teresita Daza在周一的联合新闻发布会上表示：“所有这类事件都将加强这一观点，即侵略者不是菲律宾，而是中国。” 这是中国海警，得到海上民兵船只的支持，干扰菲律宾的补给任务的第一次事件。8月5日，中国海警船使用水炮对付了一艘补给船。这些定期的补给任务是为了菲律宾部队的需要，他们居住在BRP Sierra Madre上，这是一艘1999年被马尼拉搁浅的军舰，用以主张其领土主张。 马尼拉称之为Ayungin，而中国称之为Renai Reef的这个浅滩位于菲律宾的200海里专属经济区内。菲律宾总统Ferdinand Marcos Jr周一召开了一次安全会议，讨论“中国的最新违规行为”，并命令其国家海岸警卫队调查这一事件，他的办公室表示，这一事件“在政府的最高层次受到严肃对待”。 在马科斯的领导下，中菲之间的紧张局势加剧，他一直抱怨北京的侵略行为，并寻求与传统盟友美国建立更紧密的关系。在南海，马尼拉和北京之间的海上对峙已成为一种常态，两国都在高度战略的水域主张领土主张。菲律宾要求中国停止在南海进行“非法”和“挑衅性”的行动，并表示中国应尊重2016年永久仲裁法院的裁决，该裁决认为中国的广泛主张没有法律依据。 这次碰撞事件引发了国际关注，表明了南海争端的严重性。中国大使馆称菲律宾船只“侵犯”了浅滩，但菲律宾国家安全委员会的发言人Jonathan Malaya表示，中国的行动引发了周日的碰撞，“我们为没有菲律宾人员受伤而感到宽慰和感激，但我们对中国船只的升级和挑衅行为感到担忧，这些船只没有在西菲律宾海的业务”。这一事件突显了南海紧张局势的升级，菲律宾政府在这一问题上采取了坚决的立场，强烈要求中国尊重国际法和南海地区的和平稳定。
The Philippines on Monday called China an "aggressor", accusing it of "increasing tensions" in the South China Sea and causing the collision that damaged one of Manila's boats during a resupply mission.
No one was harmed when a Chinese coast guard ship and one of Manila's smaller wooden resupply boats made contact on Sunday, but the incident has drawn international condemnation and expressions of concern from the United States.
"All incidents like this will bolster the case that it's not the Philippines that's the aggressor, but the other party, which is China," Philippine foreign ministry spokesperson Teresita Daza told a joint news conference on Monday.
China's coast guard said on Sunday there had been a "slight collision" between one of its ships and the Philippine boat while the coast guard was "lawfully" blocking the boat from transporting "illegal construction materials".
It was not the first time that China's coastguard, backed by its maritime militia boats, have interfered with the Philippines' resupply mission. On Aug. 5, a Chinese coastguard ship used a water cannon against a resupply boat.
The regular resupply missions are for Philippine troops living aboard the BRP Sierra Madre, a former warship that Manila grounded on the Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to assert its sovereignty claims.
The shoal, known in Manila as Ayungin and Renai Reef in China, is within the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr held a security meeting on Monday to discuss "the latest violation by China" and ordered his country's coast guard to investigate the incident, which his office said "is being taken seriously at the highest level of government".
Tensions between China and the Philippines have grown under Marcos, who has complained about Beijing's aggressive behaviour and sought closer ties with traditional ally, the United States.
Maritime confrontations between Manila and Beijing have become a regular feature in the South China Sea, as both countries assert their territorial claims in the highly strategic waters.
The Philippines told China to stop "illegal" and "provocative" actions in the South China Sea, saying it should respect the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which said China's expansive claims had no legal basis.
One of the images shared by the Philippine coast guard showed three of the four boats carrying out the resupply operation on Sunday surrounded by seven bigger Chinese coast guard vessels.
Jonathan Malaya, spokesperson at the Philippines' National Security Council, said China's actions caused Sunday's collision, even as Beijing's embassy in Manila said the Philippine vessels were "trespassing" at the shoal.
"We are relieved and thankful that no Filipino personnel were harmed. But we are concerned by the escalation and provocations by Chinese vessels, who have no business being in the West Philippine Sea," Malaya said.