US relays concern to China on destabilizing South China Sea actions

MANILA, Philippines — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Washington’s concerns about China’s destabilizing actions in the South China Sea, including at Ayungin Shoal, the State Department said.

Blinken and Wang met Saturday on the sidelines of the annual Southeast Asian regional security forum in Vientiane, Laos.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken and Wang had “an open and productive” discussion but had not reached any significant agreements on the issues.

He said Blinken “affirmed the US support for freedom of navigation and overflight and the peaceful resolution of disputes, consistent with international law.”

“The Secretary reiterated that the United States will continue to take necessary actions to safeguard our interests and values, and those of our allies and partners, including on human rights,” Miller said in a statement.

Blinken “made clear that the United States, together with our allies and partners, will advance our vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

At the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference with the US on Saturday, Blinken emphasized “we also have to work together to address challenges” including China’s “escalatory and unlawful actions taken against the Philippines in the South China Sea over the last few months.”

“On that, we are pleased to take note of the successful resupply to Second Thomas Shoal (also known as Ayungin Shoal), which is the product of an agreement reached between the Philippines and China.  We applaud that and hope and expect to see that it continues going forward,” Blinken said.

‘Philippines will never seek permission’

The Philippines did not and will never seek permission from China to conduct resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal, the National Task Force West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said yesterday, belying China’s claim that it was notified and has inspected Philippine vessels.

“To clarify, the Philippines did not and will never seek permission from the PRC (People’s Republic of China) to conduct resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal. There was also no boarding and inspection by the Chinese Coast Guard as claimed by the Chinese Foreign Ministry in its statement yesterday,” the NTF-WPS said in a statement.

The Philippines fully expects China to adhere to the provisions of the “provisional understanding,” noting that both sides should deal with differences in a constructive manner and never through coercion and intimidation.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippines resumed on Saturday its resupply mission to Filipino troops stationed on BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal without “untoward incidents.”

The rotation and resupply (RORE) mission was the first since the Philippines and China signed an agreement aimed at reducing their growing tensions over Ayungin Shoal.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines used the civilian vessel ML Lapu-lapu which was escorted by the Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Cape Engaño to carry out the RORE mission.

During the operation, various Chinese maritime forces were observed in the vicinity, including four China Coast Guard vessels, three People’s Liberation Army Navy vessels and two Chinese maritime militia vessels, which maintained their distance and did not disrupt the RORE.

The Philippines, the NTF-WPS said, agreed to the “provisional understanding” with China over the resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal “for the simple reason of deescalating tensions and preventing misunderstanding and miscalculations at sea.”

The Federation of Free Workers (FFW) welcomed the successful RORE mission at Ayungin.

“This marks a significant milestone in the new cooperative efforts between the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China, ” FFW said. – Mayen Jaymalin