South China Sea Clashes: China-Philippines Clash Ignites Conflict Fears | Vantage with Palki Sharma

[Music] [Music] he [Music] it is the most dangerous escalation in the South China Sea so far what he just saw happened on Monday Chinese Sailors crossed a line and launched an unprecedented attack the kind that could easily trigger a conflict let's look at those pictures again that's a Philippine Navy vessel at the center surrounded by the Chinese Coast Guard you can see a Chinese soldier in an orange life jacket he's threatening the Philippine Navy officer with an axe there is another Chinese Soldier behind him and he seems to be wielding a [Music] [Music] sword and from here the situation deteriorated Chinese troops deployed tear gas they hurled rocks they blared sirens and strobe lights some Chinese troops boarded the Philippine boat and they destroyed it the boat's equipment was smashed the Chinese troops punctured the rubber boat they took away phones and rifles of Filipino Personnel it was excessive and brutal eight Philippine officers were injured one of them suffered serious injuries he lost his right thumb the confrontation happened in this region near the second Thomas shol this is part of the disputed South China Sea Beijing takes a claim to the second Thomas SCH but Manila currently controls it in recent years Beijing has challenged manila's claims the Chinese have sent a large number of Coast Guard ships they've engaged in a number of provocative actions all of it near the second Thomas Shore they've rammed into Manila ships they fired water cannons at them the Chinese have tried to establish a block around the Shipwreck the Sierra madra this is a World War II era ship it was deliberately marooned by the Philippines in the 1990s mainly to assert its claims on the second Thomas SCH the Philippines has stationed Marines on it on the Shipwreck they have Marines and these marines need supplies so every now and then Manila sends a boat or a ship with supplies for the soldiers China has actively tried to block these missions these Supply missions and Monday's events are are a sign the Chinese are resorting to more aggressive tactics the same strategy that they've used with India on the Himalayan border more aggression more provocation since 2020 Indian and Chinese troops have clashed on more than one occasion in ladak this is along the line of actual control or Lac and here too the Chinese use sticks and rods to attack now they're doing the same with the Philippines and justifying it to boot Philippine the Philippines in defiance of China's warnings insisted on trespassing on Rene I Reef in China's nsha Islands this is the direct cause of the incident the Chinese Coast Guard at the scene has taken professional law enforcement measures with restraint which aimed at stopping the illegal Supply Mission by the Philippine vessels and no direct measures were taken against the Philippine Personnel they say they acted with restraint if using knives and axes is restraint what is excess where is the restraint in boarding naval ships without permission and then wrecking and looting them the Philippines says only Pirates do this and we couldn't agree more this is an act of aggression by China and they don't seem to be interested in de-escalating tensions over the weekend there was a fresh provocation China introduced a new law it gives the Chinese Coast Guard sweeping Powers it allows them to seize foreign ships and detain their Crews they can be kept in Chinese custody for up to 60 days and that to without a trial the Philippines is a clear Target of this new law and their president has issued a warning to China uh if by by a willful act on uh uh a Filipino uh not only not only serviceman but even a Filipino citizen by a will if one if a Filipino citizen is killed by a willful act that that is I think uh very very close to what we Define as an act of war and therefore we will respond accordingly if the Chinese Coast Guard arrests any Filipino it will be like an act of War that's how president Marcos Jr sees it and he has support from Washington the US has condemned the Chinese attack they've called it and I'm quoting irresponsible and escalatory the Americans have a defense treaty with the Philippines a treaty that was signed in 19 51 it's a mutual defense treaty it says that if any one of them is attacked by a third party both countries will help each other and after the Chinese attack this week Washington has reaffirmed its commitment to this fact uh it's Reckless and it threatens Regional peace and stability and finally the es this escalatory incident is the latest in a series of pro provocations by the PRC to impede critically needed supplies from reaching service members stationed at the crer Madre and those actions reflect consistent disregard for the safety of Filipino lives and for international law in the South China Sea yesterday Manila sent a message to Beijing urging China to avoid actions which endanger the lives of sailors the Philippines says it wants a dialogue but that cannot happen until Beijing dials down tensions on the high seas the situation is still volatile China needs to deescalate and pull back its troops else we're heading into another Conflict at one of the most dangerous flash points in the world

Channel: Firstpost

Views: 122,729

Keywords: firstpost, vantage, palki sharma, vantage palki sharma, first post, firstpost palki sharma, china attack philippines, philippine vessel attacked water cannon, philippine vessel attacked, china attack philippine vessel, south china sea dispute, china south china sea news, china philippine conflict, china philippine ship collision, china philippine ship attack, china philippine ship, philippine china tension, korean peninsula conflict, philippine china standoff, philippine news

Id: tNS_xVCBt0o

Length: 6min 52sec (412 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 20 2024