US, Philippines worried by Beijing ‘militia’ build-up in South China Sea

The US and the Philippines have expressed their shared concerns about Chinese militia vessels in South China Sea.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a phone call with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin on Thursday reaffirmed that a US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty applied to the South China Sea, according to a US State Department statement.

The Philippines has described the presence of hundreds of Chinese boats inside its 200-mile exclusive economic zone at Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea as "swarming and threatening."

Chinese diplomats have said the boats were sheltering from rough seas and no militia were aboard.

On Thursday, the Philippine defence department said it was keeping "all our options open" as a diplomatic row with Beijing is growing. 

READ MORE:  Philippines: Chinese vessels 'swarming' area around disputed islands

"Unwanted hostilities"

China, which claims almost the entirety of the sea, has refused repeated appeals by the Philippines to withdraw the vessels, which Manila says unlawfully entered its exclusive economic zone.

While President Rodrigo Duterte has appeared reluctant to confront China on the issue, one of his top aides warned on Monday the boats could ignite "unwanted hostilities".

"As the situation (in the South China Sea) evolves, we keep all our options open in managing the situation, including leveraging our partnerships with other nations such as the United States," Philippine defence department spokesman Arsenio Andolong said on Thursday.

Andolong's comments came after the United States reminded China of Washington's treaty obligations to the Philippines in the event of an attack in the waters.

"An armed attack against the Philippines' armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea, will trigger our obligations under the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Wednesday.

"We share the concerns of our Philippine allies regarding the continued reported massing of PRC maritime militia near the Whitsun Reef," Price said, referring to the People's Republic of China.

Many of the boats detected at Whitsun Reef on March 7 have since scattered across the Spratly archipelago, which is also claimed in whole or in part by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Beijing often invokes the so-called nine-dash line to justify its apparent historic rights over most of the South China Sea, and it has ignored a 2016 international tribunal decision that declared this assertion to be without basis.

Duterte, elected in 2016, put the sea dispute on the back burner as he sought closer economic ties with the Philippines' superpower neighbour and strike a course independent of its former colonial master the United States.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, China and Vietnam have competing territorial claims in the South China Sea, through which at least $3.4 trillion of annual trade passes.

READ MORE: Philippines asks Chinese flotilla of 200 vessels to leave disputed reef

US Navy, Malaysia's air force hold bilateral exercises

The US  released video showing US and Royal Malaysian Air Force jets flying above the US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt in the South China Sea on Wednesday. 

Video also showed US planes and helicopters taking off and landing on the Roosevelt. 

The US  Navy said the carrier Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group reentered the South China Sea on Saturday to “conduct routine operations.”It is the second time the strike group has entered the waterway this year as part of its 2021 deployment to the US  7th Fleet area of operations.

The deployment came amid tensions between China and Taiwan.

On Wednesday Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu said the island will defend itself “to the very last day” if attacked by China.

Wu noted China flew 10 warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Monday and deployed an aircraft carrier group for exercises near Taiwan.

China does not recognize Taiwan’s democratically elected government, and leader Xi Jinping has said “unification” between the sides cannot be put off indefinitely.