The Philippines has rejected the “use of force” to undermine its interests in the contested South China Sea but does not want any conflict, officials said on Friday. An agreement with China to ease tensions in a contested shoal has been reached.
“We don’t want war,” National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano told reporters in Manila.
Ano mentioned that efforts are underway to de-escalate tensions in the disputed waters, where Manila and Beijing have accused each other of aggressive behavior involving their ships and damaging the marine environment.
Central to recent standoffs is the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines maintains a rusty warship manned by a small crew that it deliberately grounded in 1999 to reinforce its maritime claims. The Philippines regularly sends supply missions to the troops stationed there.
Last month, Manila accused the China Coast Guard of intentionally ramming and deliberately puncturing navy vessels and seizing weapons to disrupt a military resupply mission, seriously injuring a Filipino sailor who lost a finger.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including the Second Thomas Shoal, and rejects a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that Beijing’s expansive claims had no basis under international law. The case was brought to the court by the Philippines.
“We reject any attempt to deny our strategic agencies, especially by the use of force that seeks to coerce and subordinate the national interests of the Philippines,” Ano separately told a forum marking the eighth anniversary of The Hague ruling.
