Advertisement

South China Sea: no risk of imminent war with Philippines over disputed claims, Beijing think tank says

  • South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative says Manila cannot win on its own, and the US is not interested in getting directly involved
  • Report comes as repeated confrontations in disputed areas of resource-rich South China Sea spark concerns over a possible hot conflict

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
19
A Philippine supply ship en route to the Second Thomas Shoal is hit by water cannon jets launched from a Chinese coastguard vessel. Photo: Reuters
Amber Wangin Beijing
There is no immediate risk of war between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea despite repeated clashes in recent months, a noted Chinese think tank has said.
Advertisement

This is because the Philippines cannot beat China on its own, and the US is not interested in getting directly involved in any such conflict, the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI) said.

“The United States hopes to use the Philippines’ geographical location … to contain China, but it does not want to be unnecessarily involved in an armed conflict with China because of the Philippines’ agenda,” the Beijing-based think tank said in its latest annual report.

SCSPI director Hu Bo said while the Philippines appeared to be turning into a “proxy” for US interests aimed at countering Beijing, there was “no possibility of a proxy war”, given that rival South China Sea claimants including Manila would not be able to win if the US did not get involved.

“The United States does not want to fight, and the Philippines and Vietnam do not dare to fight,” Hu told a panel discussion to mark the report’s release on Friday.

02:13

Philippines accuses Chinese coastguard of firing water cannons at its vessels in disputed waters

Philippines accuses Chinese coastguard of firing water cannons at its vessels in disputed waters

This comes amid continued confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in disputed areas of the resource-rich waterway over the past year.

Advertisement