US soldiers participate in a joint exercise with the Philippines called Balikatan on May 6.
Colonel Xerxes Trinidad, spokesman for the Philippine military, said on June 21 that a group of four Chinese naval vessels, including two destroyers, were detected at noon on June 19 in the Balabac Strait off the Philippine island of Palawan.
The spokesman said the Philippines has applied standard responses to such cases.
Analysts say the appearance of four Chinese naval vessels on June 19 and Beijing’s deployment of other vessels to the South China Sea indicate that China is preparing to escalate clashes at sea, thereby testing the attitudes of the Philippines and its allies, according to the South China Morning Post on June 22.
Specifically, security analyst Chester Cabalza, President of the Organization for International Security and Development Cooperation (headquartered in Manila, Philippines), commented that recent developments involving Chinese warships and amphibious assault ships show that China is planning to increase confrontation in the East Sea.
Among them, the amphibious assault ship could be used for coordinated attacks between the Chinese navy, coast guard and maritime militia, with the aim of escalating maritime disputes.
Philippines accuses China of endangering ships
In a related development, the Philippines said it was not considering activating its mutual defense treaty with the United States after Manila accused China of interfering with a resupply mission to troops stationed at the wreckage of the amphibious landing ship BRP Sierra Madre in Second Thomas Shoal.
On June 21, Reuters quoted Mr. Lucas Bersamin, Chairman of the Philippine National Maritime Council, as saying that the encounter was probably just "a misunderstanding, or an unwanted accident".
"We do not classify the collision as an armed attack," Mr. Bersamin said.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/trung-quoc-co-dong-thai-moi-o-bien-dong-philippines-ung-pho-185240622101507136.htm
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