US open to escorting Philippine ships in disputed South China Sea

The US military is open to the possibility of escorting Philippine ships in the disputed South China Sea, depending on consultations under the allies’ 1951 Mutual Defence Treaty, officials have said.

Head of US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Samuel Paparo’s remarks provided a glimpse of the mindset of one of the highest American military commanders outside the US mainland on a prospective operation that would risk putting US Navy ships in direct collisions with those of China.

Chinese coastguard, navy and suspected militia ships regularly clash with Philippine coastguard and navy vessels during attempts to resupply Philippine sailors stationed on remote features claimed by both countries.

These clashes in the South China Sea have grown increasingly hostile, resulting in injuries among Filipino forces and damage to their ships.

The Philippine government has faced questions about whether it should consider invoking its treaty alliance with Washington.

Mr Paparo and Philippine armed forces chief General Romeo Brawner Jr spoke to reporters after an international military conference in Manila organised by the US Indo-Pacific Command.

Military and defence officials and diplomats from the US and allied countries attended but there were no Chinese representatives.

Asked if the US military would consider escorting Philippine ships delivering food and other supplies to Filipino forces in the South China Sea, Mr Paparo replied: “Certainly, within the context of consultations.

“Every option between the two sovereign nations in terms of our mutual defence, escort of one vessel to the other, is an entirely reasonable option within our mutual defence treaty, among this close alliance between the two of us.”

Mr Brawner responded cautiously to the suggestion, which could run afoul of Philippine laws including a constitutional ban on foreign forces directly joining local combat operations.

He said: “The attitude of the armed forces of the Philippines, as dictated by the Philippine laws, is for us to first rely on ourselves.

“We are going to try all options, all avenues that are available to us in order for us to achieve the mission … in this case, the resupply and rotation of our troops.”

“We will then seek for other options when we are already constrained from doing it ourselves.”

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said there has been no situation so far that would warrant activating the treaty, which requires the allies to come to the aid of the other if it comes under external attack.

President Joe Biden and his administration have repeatedly renewed their “ironclad” commitment to help defend the Philippines under the 1951 treaty if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

Philippine defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr said at the conference that China is “the biggest disruptor” of peace in south-east Asia and called for stronger international censure over its aggression in the South China Sea, a day after China blocked Philippine vessels from delivering food to a coastguard ship at the disputed Sabina Shoal in the contested waters.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said “the label of undermining peace can never be pinned on China”, blaming unspecified other actors for “making infringements and provocations in the South China Sea and introducing external forces to undermine the large picture of regional peace and stability”.

Mr Teodoro later told reporters on the sidelines of the conference that international statements of concern against China’s increasingly assertive actions in the disputed waters and elsewhere were “not enough”.

“The antidote is a stronger collective multilateral action against China,” Mr Teodoro said, adding that diplomats and defence officials should determine those stronger steps.

In the latest incident in the South China Sea, Philippine officials said China deployed “an excessive force” of 40 ships that blocked two Philippine vessels from delivering food and other supplies to Manila’s largest coastguard ship in Sabina Shoal on Monday.

China and the Philippines blamed each other for the confrontation in Sabina, an uninhabited atoll both countries claim that has become the latest flashpoint in the Spratlys, the most hotly disputed region of the South China Sea.