MANILA: Chinese coast guard ships and a Chinese navy helicopter harassed a group of Philippine fisheries vessels conducting a scientific survey in a hotly disputed area of the South China Sea, forcing them to cancel the operation, the Philippine coast guard said Saturday.
The Chinese coast guard and navy’s harassment of the Philippine vessels took place Friday near Sandy Cay, three small uninhabited sandbars planked by an artificial island base of Chinese forces and a Philippines-occupied island in the Spratlys archipelago, the coast guard said.
The coast guard ships approached two larger vessels, which maneuvered to avoid a collision, and a Chinese navy helicopter flew low over two smaller boats deployed by the ships, forcing the survey to be called off.
Videos released by the Philippine coast guard show a Chinese coast guard ship sailing very close to a ship officials identified as one of the Philippine vessels. Another video shows a Chinese military helicopter hovering low over the rough seas near a vessel flying a Philippine flag.
There was no immediate response from Chinese officials, but China has repeatedly asserted sovereignty over most of the South China Sea and accused rival claimant states, including the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia of encroachment. China has demarcated its territorial claims with a 10 dashed-line printed in maps but has not provided the exact coordinates.
The latest flare-out of the long-simmering territorial disputes in one of the world’s busiest trade and security passageways could test President Donald Trump’s commitment to maintain America’s role as a counterweight to China, which has increasingly carried out assertive actions in the disputed waters.
His predecessor, Joe Biden, strengthened an arc of security alliances in Asia while in office in a bid to curb China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea, East China Sea and around Taiwan, a self-governed island which Beijing has vowed to take by force if necessary.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a telephone call on Wednesday with his Philippine counterpart, Enrique Manalo, discussed issues of mutual concern, including “the People’s Republic of China’s dangerous and destabilizing actions in the South China Sea,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
Rubio “conveyed that that the PRC’s behavior undermines regional peace and stability and is inconsistent with international law,” Bruce said in a readout of the call.
Rubio “underscored the United States’ ironclad commitments to the Philippines under our Mutual Defense Treaty,” Bruce said.
Biden and his administration had repeatedly warned China that the US is obligated to help defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under armed attack including in the South China Sea. China has warned the US to stay away from what it says is a purely Asian dispute.
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Philippines accuses China’s forces of harassing fisheries vessels in the South China Sea
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Philippines accuses China’s forces of harassing fisheries vessels in the South China Sea
- The Chinese coast guard and navy’s harassment of the Philippine vessels took place Friday near Sandy Cay
- China has repeatedly asserted sovereignty over most of the South China Sea and accused rival claimant states
New Trump strategy vows shift from global role to regional
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration said in a long-awaited new strategy document Friday that the United States will shift from its historic global role toward increasing dominance in Latin America and vigorously fighting migration.
The national security paper, meant to flesh out Trump’s norms-shattering “America First” worldview, signals a sharp reorientation from longstanding US calls to refocus on Asia, although it still identifies China as a top competitor.
The strategy also brutally criticized allies in Europe and said that the United States will champion opponents to European Union-led values, including on immigration.
Breaking with decades of attempts to be the sole superpower, the strategy said that the “United States rejects the ill-fated concept of global domination for itself.”
It said that the United States would also prevent other powers from dominating but added: “This does not mean wasting blood and treasure to curtail the influence of all the world’s great and middle powers.”
The strategy called for a “readjustment of our global military presence to address urgent threats in our Hemisphere, and away from theaters whose relative import to American national security has declined in recent decades or years.”
The strategy speaks in bold terms of pressing US dominance in Latin America, where the Trump administration has been striking alleged drug traffickers at sea, intervening to bring down leftist leaders including in Venezuela, and loudly seeking to take charge of key resources such as the Panama Canal.
The strategy cast Trump as modernizing the two-century-old Monroe Doctrine, in which the then young United States declared Latin America off-limits to rival powers, then from Europe.
“We will assert and enforce a ‘Trump Corollary’ to the Monroe Doctrine,” it said.
- Championing Europe ‘resistance’ -
Trump has sharply reversed many longstanding US principles since returning to office in January.
He rose to political prominence demanding sweeping curbs on immigration to the United States, fanning fears that the white majority was losing its status, and since taking office has ordered drastic and high-profile raids to deport undocumented people.
“The era of mass migration must end. Border security is the primary element of national security,” the strategy said.
The strategy made clear that the United States under Trump would aggressively pursue similar objectives in Europe, in line with far-right parties that have made strong gains in much of the continent.
In extraordinary language in speaking of close allies, the strategy said: “Cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations.”
Germany quickly hit back, saying that it does not need “outside advice.”
The strategy pointed to Europe’s lower share of the global economy — which is the result largely of the rise of China and other emerging powers — and said: “This economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure.
“Should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less.”
As Trump seeks an end to the Ukraine war that would likely favor Russia gaining territory, the strategy accused Europeans of weakness and said the United States should focus on “ending the perception, and preventing the reality, of NATO as a perpetually expanding alliance.”
- Less on Middle East and Africa -
The strategy paid comparatively little attention to the Middle East, which has long consumed Washington.
Pointing to US efforts to increase energy supply at home and not in the oil-rich Gulf, the strategy said: “America’s historic reason for focusing on the Middle East will recede.”
The paper said it was a US priority for Israel to be secure, but stopped short of the fulsome language on Israel used even in the first Trump administration.
On China, the strategy repeated calls for a “free and open” Asia-Pacific region but focused more on the nation as an economic competitor.
After much speculation on whether Trump would budge on Taiwan, the self-ruling democracy claimed by Beijing, the strategy made clear that the United States supports the decades-old status quo, but called on allies Japan and South Korea to contribute more to ensure Taiwan’s defense from China.
The strategy predictably puts little focus on Africa, saying the United States should transition away from “liberal ideology” and an “aid-focused relationship” and emphasize goals such as securing critical minerals.
The national security paper, meant to flesh out Trump’s norms-shattering “America First” worldview, signals a sharp reorientation from longstanding US calls to refocus on Asia, although it still identifies China as a top competitor.
The strategy also brutally criticized allies in Europe and said that the United States will champion opponents to European Union-led values, including on immigration.
Breaking with decades of attempts to be the sole superpower, the strategy said that the “United States rejects the ill-fated concept of global domination for itself.”
It said that the United States would also prevent other powers from dominating but added: “This does not mean wasting blood and treasure to curtail the influence of all the world’s great and middle powers.”
The strategy called for a “readjustment of our global military presence to address urgent threats in our Hemisphere, and away from theaters whose relative import to American national security has declined in recent decades or years.”
The strategy speaks in bold terms of pressing US dominance in Latin America, where the Trump administration has been striking alleged drug traffickers at sea, intervening to bring down leftist leaders including in Venezuela, and loudly seeking to take charge of key resources such as the Panama Canal.
The strategy cast Trump as modernizing the two-century-old Monroe Doctrine, in which the then young United States declared Latin America off-limits to rival powers, then from Europe.
“We will assert and enforce a ‘Trump Corollary’ to the Monroe Doctrine,” it said.
- Championing Europe ‘resistance’ -
Trump has sharply reversed many longstanding US principles since returning to office in January.
He rose to political prominence demanding sweeping curbs on immigration to the United States, fanning fears that the white majority was losing its status, and since taking office has ordered drastic and high-profile raids to deport undocumented people.
“The era of mass migration must end. Border security is the primary element of national security,” the strategy said.
The strategy made clear that the United States under Trump would aggressively pursue similar objectives in Europe, in line with far-right parties that have made strong gains in much of the continent.
In extraordinary language in speaking of close allies, the strategy said: “Cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations.”
Germany quickly hit back, saying that it does not need “outside advice.”
The strategy pointed to Europe’s lower share of the global economy — which is the result largely of the rise of China and other emerging powers — and said: “This economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure.
“Should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less.”
As Trump seeks an end to the Ukraine war that would likely favor Russia gaining territory, the strategy accused Europeans of weakness and said the United States should focus on “ending the perception, and preventing the reality, of NATO as a perpetually expanding alliance.”
- Less on Middle East and Africa -
The strategy paid comparatively little attention to the Middle East, which has long consumed Washington.
Pointing to US efforts to increase energy supply at home and not in the oil-rich Gulf, the strategy said: “America’s historic reason for focusing on the Middle East will recede.”
The paper said it was a US priority for Israel to be secure, but stopped short of the fulsome language on Israel used even in the first Trump administration.
On China, the strategy repeated calls for a “free and open” Asia-Pacific region but focused more on the nation as an economic competitor.
After much speculation on whether Trump would budge on Taiwan, the self-ruling democracy claimed by Beijing, the strategy made clear that the United States supports the decades-old status quo, but called on allies Japan and South Korea to contribute more to ensure Taiwan’s defense from China.
The strategy predictably puts little focus on Africa, saying the United States should transition away from “liberal ideology” and an “aid-focused relationship” and emphasize goals such as securing critical minerals.
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