In a time of simmering geopolitical tension, the United States urged China to stop harassing Philippine ships in the South China Sea and vowed to stand by the Philippines.
On April 29, the United States urged China to stop harassing Philippine ships in the South China Sea
And vowed to support the Philippines in the face of escalating geopolitical tension.
The United States State Department issued a statement saying, We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct.
The Philippines on Friday accused China’s coast guard of aggressive tactics
During an incident during a Philippine coast guard patrol near the Philippines-held Second Thomas Shoal,
A flashpoint for prior altercations located 105 nautical miles (195 km) off its coast.
A small military garrison is stationed on the Second Thomas the Philippines claimed in February that a
Chinese ship had fired a military-grade laser at one of its resupply ships.
With a nine-dash line on maps that extends more than 1,500 km off its mainland
And enters the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, the Philippines,
Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia, China asserts sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea.
That line was rejected as having no legal foundation in a 2016 international arbitral decision.
On Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the Philippine vessels had trespassed into Chinese
Territorial seas and made intentional provocations.
According to the State Department, the United States stands with our Philippine
Allies in upholding the rules-based international maritime order.
