THE United States government expressed support to the Philippines following the November 16 incident at the Ayungin Shoal wherein Chinese Coast Guard vessels blocked and water cannoned local boats bringing supplies to the Philippine outpost in the shoal.

In a statement issued last Friday, November 19, by the US Embassy in the Philippines Information Office, the U.S. Department of State said the United States “stands with our ally, the Philippines, in the face of this escalation that directly threatens regional peace and stability.”

The U.S. Department of State added that Chinese actions in the shoal “escalates regional tensions, infringes upon freedom of navigation in the South China Sea as guaranteed under international law, and undermines the rules-based international order.”

It also said that the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal decision “delivered a unanimous and enduring decision firmly rejecting the PRC’s claims to Second Thomas Shoal (also known as Ayungin Shoal) and to waters determined to be part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.”

“PRC (People’s Republic of China) actions asserting its expansive and unlawful South China Sea maritime claims undermine peace and security in the region,” it added.

The full statement read as follows:

On the Situation in the South China Sea  

“Three days ago, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Coast Guard blocked and used water cannons against Philippine resupply ships en route to Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.  

“The United States stands with our ally, the Philippines, in the face of this escalation that directly threatens regional peace and stability, escalates regional tensions, infringes upon freedom of navigation in the South China Sea as guaranteed under international law, and undermines the rules-based international order.  

“On July 12, 2016, an Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, delivered a unanimous and enduring decision firmly rejecting the PRC’s claims to Second Thomas Shoal and to waters determined to be part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.  The PRC and the Philippines, pursuant to their treaty obligations under the Law of the Sea Convention, are legally bound to comply with this decision.  The PRC should not interfere with lawful Philippine activities in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.  

“The United States stands with our Philippine allies in upholding the rules-based international maritime order and reaffirms that an armed attack on Philippine public vessels in the South China Sea would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 U.S. Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.  

“The United States strongly believes that PRC actions asserting its expansive and unlawful South China Sea maritime claims undermine peace and security in the region.”

Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian claimed the supply boats that Chinese Coast Guard blocked and water cannoned at Ayungin “trespassed into waters near Ren’ai Jiao,” the Chinese name for the Ayungin Shoal, also known as Second Thomas Shoal.

Ayungin, which is located 105 nautical miles or 194 kilometers west of Palawan, is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

Meanwhile, the Philippine government said it will not abandon its Ayungin Shoal outpost in face of Chinese harassment and intimidation.

“We will continue to assert our sovereignty, our sovereign rights, our jurisdiction over Ayungin Shoal and all other territories within our jurisdiction including our [exclusive economic zone],” said acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles in a press briefing.

The Philippine outpost at Ayungin consists of the BRP Sierra Madre (top photo), an LST-542-class tank landing ship that was deliberately run aground at the shoal in 1999 to serve as an outpost of Philippine Marines and assert Philippine sovereignty in the area. ~