China.- US warns China about its “threats” to the Philippines in the South China Sea

Madrid, 12 (Europa Press)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday warned China of its “threats” to the Philippines in the South China Sea and reiterated that any “armed attack” would activate defense commitments between the two countries.

In a statement from the North American country’s State Department, he stressed that “nowhere is the international rules-based maritime system at greater risk than in the South China Sea” as “China continues to coerce and intimidate Southeast Asian countries”. .

Similarly, the message is launched to mark the fifth anniversary of the Permanent Arbitration Court’s decision in which the Philippines agreed in its maritime dispute with China and determined that the latter country has no “historic” right to hold. To claim certain areas of the South Sea.

In this sense, he stressed that the United States agrees with this decision as well as its policy from a year earlier in which it rejected the Asian giant’s maritime claims in the region.

“We also confirm that an armed attack against the Philippine Armed Forces, public ships or aircraft in the South China Sea will entail mutual defense commitments,” he warned.

In the end, he called on China to “comply with its obligations under international law” and stop its provocative behaviour.

For years, China has had territorial disputes with Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines over several islands in the South China Sea. Significant hydrocarbon deposits were discovered on the continental shelf of these islands, notably in the Xisha Islands (Paracel Islands), Nansha (Spratly Islands) and Huangyan (Scarborough Reef).