Escalating Tensions in the South China Sea: Philippines Confronts China’s Aggression

Written by Lexi Dean | April 1, 2024

ASEAN group photo 2023

Clashes in the Indo-Pacific region over disputed territory and sovereignty rights in the South China Sea continue to attract international attention. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei, and China have overlapping claims that have led to tensions within the South China Sea, one of the most vital international shipping lanes in the world. Senior Chinese diplomat, Liu Zhenmin, emphasized the need for regional actors to recognize and cherish the decades of regional peace since the Cold War. Zhenmin also highlighted the need for ASEAN nations to seek bilateral solutions to territorial disputes. Earlier this month China and the Philippines clashed around Second Thomas and Scarborough Shoals, heavily disputed areas of the South China Sea. In response, China urged the international community to avoid supporting one side and suppressing the other. 

Furthermore, the Philippines accused China’s coast guard of using water cannons on a civilian vessel that was resupplying troops on the Second Thomas Shoal just this week. This aggressive attack injured several Philippine Navy crewmen and damaged a supply boat near the shoal. Following China’s actions, Philippine President, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said that his government would take action against the attacks. Marcos did not specify the action his government would take but claimed it would be “proportionate, deliberate and reasonable in the face of the open, unabating, and illegal, coercive, aggressive and dangerous attacks” of the Chinese coast guard and maritime militia. The Philippines does not want conflict within the region but asserts it refuses to be silent about China’s aggressive actions. The United States and Japan have supported the Philippines amidst China’s actions this past week. China then accused the Philippines of spreading misinformation to mislead the international community regarding the situation in the South China Sea. Marcos seeks to deepen defense relations between the Philippines and the United States as China’s repeated aggression in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) continues.