Bangkok It is not the first dangerous situation for the “BRP Sierra Madre”: Before the ship passed under the control of the Philippine Navy, the USA used it in World War II and in the Vietnam War. Today it is again at the center of a major conflict. This time the threat comes from China.
The scene of the dispute is the atoll Second Thomas Shoal, which both China and the Philippines claim for themselves. Since the late 1990s, the ship has served as a Philippine outpost in the South China Sea – continuously manned by sailors who stand up to China’s striving for supremacy. But their presence on the rusty ship is met with growing resistance from Beijing.
China’s coast guard tries again and again to block the supply of the sailors. A few days ago, a dangerous confrontation broke out in the immediate vicinity of the Sierra Madre: a Chinese coast guard ship tried to push off a Philippine patrol boat. According to Philippine information, a collision could only just be avoided. The incident further escalated the conflict in the region. The government in Manila accuses China of increasingly aggressive behavior – and the United States feel compelled to issue a clear warning to Beijing.
On the occasion of a visit by the Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos jr. Speaking in the White House on Monday, US President Joe Biden reaffirmed the USA’s “iron commitments” to the Philippines.
Any attack on Philippine forces or ships in the South China Sea would call on US defense commitments, the two leaders said in a joint statement.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea.
(Photo: AP)
Over the weekend, the US State Department had already asked China to stop its “provocative and unsafe behavior” in the region in view of the near-collision. China claims most of the South China Sea, which transports more than $5 trillion worth of goods a year, and is at odds with several Southeast Asian countries over it. With an increasing military presence, including on artificial islands, the government in Beijing is trying to present the region with a fait accompli.
China’s territorial claims are not very convincing: Second Thomas Shoal, for example, is 1300 kilometers away from mainland China – and only 200 kilometers off the Philippine coast. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague backed the position of the Philippines in the dispute back in 2016.
Philippines are getting closer to the USA again
However, then Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte pursued a pro-China course and refrained from using the arbitral award to put pressure on the government in Beijing. However, his successor Marcos Jr., son of the former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, is now taking the opposite approach: He clearly wants to reject China’s advances in the region and is seeking close ties with the United States.
The region in which the Philippines is located is characterized by what is probably the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world at the moment, Marcos said at his meeting with Biden. He assured that he wanted to help modernize the Philippine military – among other things, patrol boats and military transport aircraft are to be delivered to the Philippines, as the White House announced.
China keeps trying to prevent supplies to the Filipino sailors on the naval ship.
(Photo: AP)
The United States sees the foreign policy reorientation of the Philippines under Marcos as an opportunity to reconnect with an old ally and hope that this will give them important strategic advantages in the conflict with China. The two countries took a significant step back in February when the government in Manila allowed US troops access to four more military bases – despite loud protests from China.
USA rely on the strategically important location of the Philippines
So far, the US military has had access to five Philippine bases. With the agreement, the United States can now house soldiers in the north of the main island of Luzon – just 400 kilometers from the south coast of Taiwan. This gives the USA the opportunity to quickly deploy troops from the Philippines to the area should the conflict escalate.
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However, the government in Manila does not feel very comfortable with the situation. Even America-friendly President Marcos does not want to turn his country into China’s enemy and fears being drawn into the conflict between the great powers. He recently described the dispute over Taiwan as “very, very worrying” for his country. He warned that should a dispute arise on this issue, he could hardly imagine a scenario “in which the Philippines would not be involved in some way.”
US President Biden is meanwhile optimistic about the Philippines as an ally. “We face new challenges,” Marcos told the White House, adding, “I couldn’t think of a better partner than you.”
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