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US Vice-President Kamala Harris delivers a speech on board a Philippine Coast Guard ship during a visit to the island of Palawan on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

China’s response to US VP’s Philippines trip not a sign of compromise, analysts say

  • Beijing reacts with restraint after US vice-president travels to Philippine island of Palawan near disputed South China Sea waters
  • While Beijing might be trying to stabilise ties with Washington, it will not back down on regional claims, observers say
China reacted with restraint after US Vice-President Kamala Harris visited an island that lies near contested waters in the South China Sea but Beijing will not compromise on its sovereignty claims in the region, according to observers.
Harris visited Palawan on Tuesday, making her the highest-ranking US official to visit the Philippine island near the disputed Spratly Islands, also known as the Nanshas, an archipelago claimed by both Beijing and Manila.
Asked about Harris’ visit, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday that China did not oppose normal communication between the United States and the Philippines but it should not harm the “interests” of other countries.

US Philippine bases spark protests as VP Harris visits Manila

Harris’ trip – and Beijing’s reaction to it – came a week after a meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden at the G20 summit appeared to signal warmer ties between the two countries.

But in an address to the Philippine Coast Guard, Harris reaffirmed the US-Philippine alliance and, in an apparent reference to China, denounced “intimidation and coercion” in the South China Sea.

During a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr in Manila, Harris pledged that the US would defend the Philippines if its forces were attacked in the South China Sea.

Her statement came after an encounter between Philippine and Chinese vessels near the Spratly Islands over the weekend. Manila accused China of “forcefully” seizing rocket debris from its navy during the incident.

02:30

VP Kamala Harris visits Philippines, vows US support for ‘sovereignty’ in South China Sea

VP Kamala Harris visits Philippines, vows US support for ‘sovereignty’ in South China Sea

China denied that it had forcefully intervened, saying it handed back the debris to the Philippines, which found the debris first, after “peaceful consultations”.

Philippine media reported that the debris was believed to be from a Chinese Long March 5B rocket launched in October to carry the Mengtian space station lab module.
Marcos questioned the conflicting account from China, saying he trusted his navy and would send a diplomatic note to ask Beijing why its version of the incident was so “benign”.

The Philippines and China have often clashed over the Spratly Islands, which are also claimed by Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei. Last year, Manila accused Beijing of firing water cannons at supply ships for a vessel it ran aground in 1999 on Second Thomas Shoal, an atoll in the Spratly Islands also known as Renai Jiao.

01:51

US-Philippine visit reaffirms defence ties, as protesters rally against American militarism

US-Philippine visit reaffirms defence ties, as protesters rally against American militarism

In Harris’ speech on board a Philippine Coast Guard vessel on Tuesday, she vowed support for a 2016 arbitral ruling by The Hague that favoured Manila in the South China Sea dispute. China has rejected that ruling, which concluded that Beijing had no historic right to obtain resources based on its “nine-dash line” claim to the contested waters.

During her visit to Vietnam last year, Harris said she supported Hanoi in its efforts to counter Beijing and would deliver more US Coast Guard vessels to the region. In response, the Chinese foreign ministry said it “strongly opposed” the US deployment of maritime forces in the Indo-Pacific and urged it to avoid intervening in regional affairs.

Zhang Mingliang, a South China Sea specialist at Jinan University, said the shift in tone showed that Beijing was signalling a “constructive” diplomacy as it felt the need to stabilise ties with both the US and the Philippines.

Xi and Marcos look to expand China-Philippines ties after first meeting

When meeting with Xi during the Apec summit in Thailand last week, Marcos said he looked forward to a state visit to China. Both sides agreed to expand ties, and Xi said maritime disputes between the two countries should be resolved through consultations.

Zhang said China had previously criticised US alliances with countries in the region, but this approach could generate resistance and lead the Philippines to seek more cooperation with the US or Southeast Asian countries in an attempt to contain Beijing.

Zhang said the timing of the rocket debris dispute was interesting as it took place a few days before Harris’ trip.

“In order for the US and the Philippines to further strengthen their security cooperation, there must be some background. If there is no threat against the Philippines, they will not [strengthen their cooperation]. And they both see the threat as China.”

01:22

Philippines reports incident of close ‘manoeuvring’ by China coastguard ship near Scarborough Shoal

Philippines reports incident of close ‘manoeuvring’ by China coastguard ship near Scarborough Shoal

Collin Koh, a maritime affairs expert at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said it was not the first time that rocket debris had fallen into the disputed waters.

The Philippine Coast Guard picked up another piece of rocket debris believed to have fallen from a Chinese Long March rocket during its Wentian mission in July.

Koh said although China would not necessarily want to overplay the rocket debris issue and risk pushing Manila towards Washington, it would still intervene when such encounters happened in areas where Beijing claimed sovereignty to avoid showing “weakness”.

He said he did not expect China to relent because being viewed as backing away on maritime sovereignty in the South China Sea would be seen as “politically untenable”.

China stations rescue and maritime offices on disputed Spratlys

Lu Xiang, a US-China relations specialist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said there would be “no compromise” for China on its “core interests”, including issues of sovereignty.

“China will, as always, closely watch the development of this region. We will also remain committed to developing an equal and mutually beneficial relationship with the Philippines and all the Asean countries,” he said.

“I don’t think President Marcos has the intention to escalate the situation in the South China Sea. If President Marcos does not [have such intention], then we will look at the United States. If the United States unilaterally seeks a breakthrough in this region, then I think the result may not be very good.”

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