Manila, 2nd July 2024: In a renewed round of discussions held on Tuesday, the Chinese and Philippines foreign ministries have worked out agreements to lower tensions in the South China sea, while “relentlessly protecting their own sovereignty without prejudice”.
The Philippines foreign undersecretary Theresa Lazaro, along with her Chinese counterpart Chen Xiodong reaffirmed that mechanisms to strengthen communications during emergencies in the South China Sea are being developed, but tensions persist between Manila and Beijing.
Maritime concerns have existed between the two countries for a couple of years in the South China sea which Beijing claims it’s own territory, and where Manila also carries out weaponry maintenance, including that for the ageing Sierra Madre warship at the Second Thomas Shoals. A month back, conflicts flared again when a Chinese vessel rummaged into a Philippine’s re-supply troop carrier, severely injuring a Filipino soldier- causing apprehensions about involvement of the US (Filipino ally) in the region. Termed an “accident” by Beijing, and “most aggressive intentional attack” by Manila, the incident re-ignited conversations about China’s approach towards international and bilateral laws in shared maritime territories.
Backed by the arbitral tribunal ruling, the Philippines blames China for illegal intervention into the South China Sea, while China on the other hand, claims Philippines’ actions as a disruption of maritime peace efforts.
It remains to be seen how the two countries zero down on areas of exclusive use within the sea, especially when experts expect China’s sea surveillance and Philippines’ weaponry maintenance to continue unabated. Alternative arenas of cooperation such as sea research and coast guard maintenance might be looked at for strengthening bilateral relations- expected to have a spillover at the maritime peace efforts.
