MANILA — The United States on Sunday condemned what it called “dangerous blocking and other irresponsible maneuvers” by Chinese maritime forces against a Philippine resupply mission at Ayungin Shoal in the South China Sea, escalating the diplomatic fallout from a confrontation that forced Manila to suspend the operation.
“We stand by our Philippine allies and laud their professionalism and restraint,” U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton said in a statement. “We call on the China Coast Guard and PLAN to cease the use of escalatory tactics that threaten the freedom of navigation and a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The confrontation took place Thursday evening, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. A Philippine convoy — including the coast guard vessels BRP Malabrigo and BRP Cabra and the civilian supply boat M/V Lapu-Lapu — was blocked by eight Chinese warships and coast guard vessels roughly 60 nautical miles from Ayungin Shoal while attempting to deliver food, fuel and other supplies and rotate troops aboard the grounded BRP Sierra Madre. The Philippine Coast Guard said a China Coast Guard vessel performed dangerous maneuvers against M/V Lapu-Lapu that threatened a collision, and the mission was called off for the safety of personnel.
China’s embassy in Manila rejected the U.S. statement, condemning what it called disregard for “right and wrong” and describing the Philippines’ actions at what Beijing calls Ren’ai Reef as “provocative and unlawful.” Beijing claims nearly the entire South China Sea, a claim an international tribunal ruled in 2016 had no legal basis.
The episode adds to a pattern of Chinese interference with Philippine missions at the shoal, a flashpoint where Manila has maintained a small garrison aboard the rusting BRP Sierra Madre, grounded since 1999.