Two Philippine officials said China and the Philippines have reached an agreement that they hope will end a confrontation over the most hotly contested shallow water in the South China Sea.
The Philippines occupies the Second Thomas Bank, but China also claims it, and increasingly hostile clashes at sea have raised fears of wider conflicts that could involve the United States.
The decisive agreement was reached on Sunday, following a series of meetings between Philippine and Chinese diplomats in Manila and an exchange of diplomatic notes aimed at establishing a mutually acceptable agreement on the shoal without conceding territorial claims to either side.
Philippine officials with knowledge of the talks confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity ahead of the public announcement. China has disputes with several governments over land and maritime borders, many of them in the South China Sea, and the rare deal with the Philippines may offer hope that similar agreements can be struck by Beijing with other rival countries to avoid clashes while thorny territorial issues remain unresolved.
However, it remains to be seen whether the deal can be successfully implemented and how long it will last. The Chinese coast guard and other forces used powerful water cannons and dangerous blocking manoeuvres to prevent food and other supplies from reaching the Philippine navy at the Manila outpost on the shoal.
Long confrontation
The long-running territorial standoff at the shoal has flared up repeatedly since last year between Chinese Coast Guard, Navy and suspected militia ships and Philippine Navy boats escorted by the Coast Guard carrying food, water and fresh naval and marine personnel to the outpost on the long-sunken and rusting BRP Sierra Madre warship.
In the most serious clash, Chinese forces in motorboats repeatedly rammed and then boarded two Philippine Navy boats on June 17 to prevent the Filipinos from ferrying food and other supplies, including firearms, to the ship’s outpost in the shallow waters of the shoal, according to a Philippine government statement.
After repeatedly ramming them, the Chinese seized the Philippine Navy boats and damaged them with machetes and makeshift spears. They also seized seven M4 rifles, which were packed in crates, and other supplies.
Several Philippine soldiers were injured, including one who lost his thumb, in the chaotic clash, captured on video and photos later released by Philippine officials. China and the Philippines have accused each other of confrontation and claimed sovereign rights to the shoal, which the Filipinos call Ayungin and the Chinese call Ren’ai Jiao.
Condemnation of China
The United States and its key Asian and Western allies, including Japan and Australia, have condemned China’s actions on the shoal and called for respect for the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, a key global trade route with rich fishing grounds and undersea gas deposits.
In addition to China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, and Taiwan have separate but increasingly tense territorial disputes in waters considered a potential flashpoint and a thin fault line in the regional rivalry between the US and China. For decades, the US military has deployed ships and fighter jets on so-called freedom of navigation and flight patrols, which China opposes, seeing it as a threat to regional stability.
