Blinken warns China: Deescalate WPS tensions

NSC: Beijing invented new version of ‘Ayungin deal’

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he warned China directly about its assertive moves around the Philippines and vowed to defend its oldest treaty ally in the region.

“I made clear that while the US will continue to de-escalate tensions, our defense commitments to the Philippines remain ironclad,” Blinken told reporters in Beijing.

Blinken, who met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, said he raised Beijing’s “dangerous actions in the South China Sea” during meetings with top leaders.

During his visit to Manila last month, Blinken said: “Repeated violations of international law and the rights of the Philippines – water cannons, blocking maneuvers, close shadowing, other dangerous operations – these waterways are critical to the Philippines, to its security, to its economy, but they’re also critical to the interests of the region, the United States, and the world.”

“We stand together in our determination to uphold international law – for the Philippines, for everyone else – against any provocative actions,” he added.

For its part, the National Security Council on Saturday said the “new model” of the so-called gentleman’s agreement between Manila and Beijing is just a “new invention” of China amid the ongoing Balikatan military exercises between the Philippines and the United States.

“This ‘new model’ announced by the Chinese Embassy is nothing more than a new invention,” National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said in a statement.

“Every now and then, China has a new narrative about alleged arrangements in the West Philippine Sea. First, it was the alleged ‘promise’ which then became the ‘gentleman’s agreement’ and now the latest version, the ‘new model’ or ‘internal understanding,’” Año said.

“The propaganda masters are clearly working overtime in Beijing to sow discord and division in our country for one purpose alone: to push their claim that the Philippines is the one causing increased tensions in the WPS and provoking conflict because it has reneged on its promises.”

“As the President has clearly stated, there is no agreement whatsoever about Ayungin Shoal and that we shall continue to do all activities within the bounds of international law and we shall brook no interference in our lawful actions,” Año added.

For his part, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez welcomed Blinken’s assurance of Washington’s treaty obligations in case hostilities erupt in the West Philippine Sea.

Rodriguez also urged China to halt its frequent intrusions into the WPS and the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.

“That is the only way Beijing can avoid miscalculation with the US, which is treaty-obligated to defend the Philippines. That also means that China will have to give up the sea features inside the Philippines’ EEZ that it has occupied, one of two of which Beijing has militarized,” he said. — Maricel Cruz & Vince Lopez