Third party might turn SCS into ‘sea of war’ – Chinese official

A ranking official of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said Beijing and Manila can handle their maritime dispute well but a “third party” might turn the South China Sea (SCS) into a “sea of war.”

Counsellor Zhou Li, of MoFA’s information department, wrote on Twitter that there is already an agreement between China and the Philippines that negotiation “is the only way to resolve disputes” in the SCS.

“We have [the] ability to handle it well but have to stay high-alert that South China Sea might be turned into the sea of war by the third party,” Zhou said, without identifying the third party.

She added that China’s “goal” is for the South China Sea “to become the sea of peace, friendship and cooperation.”

“We are confident about this. China has always resolved its disputes through negotiations,” the MoFA official said.

In this handout photo taken on June 30, 2023 and received from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on July 5, a Chinese Coast Guard ship (right) allegedly blocks Philippine Coast Guard patrol ship Malabrigo, as it escorts a Philippine Navy re-supply mission near Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China sea. AFP PHOTO / Philippine Coast Guard 

Zhou noted that since the formulation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) in 1982, China and coastal countries “have set up bilateral channels of communication to address the disputes.”

China, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines have overlapping claims in the SCS believed to be rich in gas and oil deposits.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) recently said Chinese patrol vessels blocked two of its boats from entering Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, describing their actions as “very dangerous.”

National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said the incident, involving PCG vessels BRP Malabrigo and BRP Malapascua, transpired on June 30 while they were escorting two supply ships to Ayungin Shoal.

The Embassy of France to the Philippines expressed concern on the June 30 incident as it called for “respect for international law and the resolution of disputes through dialogue.”

“We are resolutely opposed to any use of force or threat to do so. We recall, in this regard, the Arbitration award rendered under Unclos on the 12th of July 2016,” the embassy said in a statement on Monday.

— Bernadette E. Tamayo

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