US again warns it will defend Philippines after incidents with Chinese ships in South China Sea

(Patria) - The United States reiterated its warning on Monday that it will defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack under the 1951 treaty, after Chinese ships blocked and collided with two Philippine vessels off a disputed atoll in the South China Sea.

Philippine diplomats summoned a Chinese embassy official in Manila on Monday and lodged a strong protest after Sunday's collisions near the Second Thomas Atoll. There were no reports of injuries, but a Philippine coast guard vessel and a wooden-hulled supply boat crewed by navy personnel were damaged in the encounters, officials said, AP reported.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. convened an emergency meeting with the defense minister and other top military and security officials to discuss the latest hostilities in the disputed waters. The Philippines and other neighbors of China have been resisting Beijing's territorial claims in almost the entire South China Sea, with some, like Manila, seeking U.S. military support.

After the meeting, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro denounced China for resorting to "brute force" that he said endangered the Filipino crew members and for twisting facts to cover up its aggression.

"The Philippine government considers China's latest aggression as a clear violation of international law," Teodoro said.

"China has no legal right or authority to conduct law enforcement operations in our territorial waters and in our exclusive economic zone," he added.

Territorial disputes involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have long been considered a flashpoint in the delicate fault line of U.S.-China rivalry. About five Chinese coast guard ships, eight accompanying vessels and two navy ships formed a blockade on Sunday to prevent two Philippine coast guard ships and two boats from delivering food and other supplies to Philippine forces stationed at the Second Thomas Atoll on a derelict Philippine navy outpost, coast guard commodore Jay Tarriela said.

One of the Philippine coast guard ships and the supply boat were hit by a Chinese coast guard vessel. Only one of the two Philippine ships managed to deliver supplies to the Filipino forces, Tarriela said.

A senior Chinese diplomat summoned by Philippine foreign officials reiterated China's claim that the Philippine ships intruded into Chinese territory.

"China once again urges the Philippines to take China's concerns seriously, honor its commitment, stop its maritime provocations, stop its dangerous actions, stop its unwarranted attacks and slander against China, and tow away the illegally 'grounded' warship as soon as possible," Zhou Zhiyong was quoted as saying by the Chinese embassy in Manila.

He was referring to the Sierra Madre, which serves as Manila's territorial outpost on the atoll after it was deliberately grounded there in 1999. The Chinese coast guard on Sunday blamed the Philippine ships for causing the collisions and said the Filipinos were carrying construction materials to reinforce their outpost on the atoll.

The U.S. and other allies have expressed concern over China's actions. Washington renewed its warning that it is obligated to defend the Philippines under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty if Philippine forces, ships and aircraft come under armed attack, including "those of its coast guard - anywhere in the South China Sea."

"The United States stands with our Filipino allies in the face of dangerous and unlawful actions by the People's Republic of China coast guard and maritime militia that interfered with a Philippine resupply mission on October 22 at Second Thomas Atoll," the U.S. State Department said, blaming the collisions on dangerous maneuvers by Chinese ships and adding that they "violated international law by intentionally impeding the Philippine vessels' exercise of freedom of navigation on the high seas."

The State Department cited a 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated China's expansive claims in the South China Sea on historical grounds, including the atoll. Washington does not claim the disputed sea but has deployed forces to patrol the waters to promote freedom of navigation and overflight – moves that have angered Beijing, which has warned the U.S. to stop interfering in what it calls a purely Asian dispute.