South China Sea: US, Australia, Japan would join Philippines-China ‘fight’, says analyst

Amid rising tension in the disputed region, Manila’s defence secretary has said he hopes more nations would be ‘willing to join our fight’

Analyst says some nations would be more committed while others, including EU and South Korea, may also step up, with or without bullets

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A Chinese militia vessel, top, and a Philippine coast guard ship near the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on October 22. Photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines via AP

Published: 11:30am, 28 Oct 2023

Three tiers of countries, with Australia, Japan and the United States among them, are likely to join in the Philippines’ “fight” with China over South China Sea skirmishes and confrontations, according to one analyst.

On Wednesday, the Philippines defence secretary said that Manila will boost multilateral activities, including freedom of navigation patrols in the disputed region.

Gilberto Teodoro also expressed hope that more countries would “join our fight” after the Philippines and China earlier this week accused each other of raising tensions in the disputed waterway.

Manila said China’s coastguard intentionally collided with its boats during a resupply mission to a small contingent of troops stationed on a rusty ship, purposely grounded in 1999 in the Philippines’ 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

China, which said the Philippine boats “bumped dangerously” into its coastguard vessels, claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, despite an international arbitration award declaring that such a claim has no legal basis.

Manila’s Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, centre, during a press conference on Monday. He says more nations may be willing to step up against China. Photo: AP

The recent incident with China “could result in more willing nations to join our fight”, Teodoro said, without elaborating.