South China Sea tensions rise as Manila, Beijing point fingers over ship collisions
Editor’s Note: This piece by Seth Robson features quotes from CSP Senior Fellow, Grant Newsham.
Three coast guard ships crashed Monday in disputed South China Sea territory, according to officials from China and the Philippines who blamed each other for the incidents.
The collisions happened when a pair of Philippine ships – BRP Cape Engano and BRP Bacagay – encountered a China coast guard vessel near Sabina Shoal, according to a statement that day from Jonathan Malaya, spokesman for the Philippines’ National Security Council.
The shoal, in the Spratly Islands, known in China as the Nansha Islands, is about 87 miles west of the Philippine province of Palawan. In May, Manila accused Beiing of attempting to reclaim land at the shoal, which is claimed by both countries, as well as Taiwan and Vietnam.
The Cape Engano was “subjected to aggressive maneuvers” by a Chinese ship shortly before 3:30 a.m., Malaya said in the statement.
…
The U.S. hasn’t yet responded in a meaningful way to the South China Sea clashes, said Grant Newsham, a retired Marine colonel and senior researcher with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo.
“The Filipinos are trying their best but don’t have the punch or resources to take on the Chinese alone,” he said by email Monday.
