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After Run-In With PLA Fighter, Manila's S. China Sea Deal May Be Reviewed

PLA fighter launches a flare near a Philippine military aircraft over Scarborough Shoal, August 8 (AFP)
PLA fighter launches a flare near a Philippine military aircraft over Scarborough Shoal, August 8 (AFP)

Published Aug 14, 2024 9:22 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

After a Chinese fighter released flares in front of a Philippine patrol plane at Scarborough Shoal last week, Manila says that its recent de-escalation agreement with Beijing could be up for review. 

The two sides recently reached an agreement to de-escalate tensions at Second Thomas Shoal, a frequent flashpoint in the Spratly Islands. It sits within the Philippines' internationally-recognized exclusive economic zone and within China's unilateral "nine-dash line" sovereignty zone, which was dismissed by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague in 2016. 

Beijing and Manila have released different interpretations of the terms of their new de-escalation agreement - in particular, the degree of control that China may exert over navigation in Philippine waters. The Philippine Coast Guard's main spokesman, Cmdre. Jay Tarriela, said last month that "the Philippines did not and will not seek permission from the PRC" for missions to and from Philippine outposts. 

After just one resupply mission under the agreement, its future appears uncertain. This week, Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Maria Theresa Lazaro told Reuters that the deal applied only to Second Thomas Shoal, and it could be re-evaluated if needed. "The review will be there. When that will be is subject to further discussion," she said. 

Her comments followed just days after Manila protested a run-in between a Chinese jet and a Philippine patrol plane at Scarborough Shoal, another contested reef within the Philippine EEZ. Video obtained by the Philippine Inquirer shows that the jet released multiple flares near the patrol plane's path, forcing the pilot to change course.

On Sunday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. denounced the run-in as “unjustified, illegal and reckless.” Manila has made a formal diplomatic complaint about the encounter to the Chinese embassy, adding to a list of more than 100 previously filed protests. 

In a related development Wednesday, Chinese state media has accused the Philippines of attempting to "occupy" Sabina Shoal, another reef in the Philippine EEZ just east of Second Thomas Shoal. The Philippine Coast Guard has stationed a cutter at Sabina Shoal for months, and state-owned Chinese outlet Global Times said Wednesday that the PCG will soon make a "vile attempt" to install "a forward deployment base in the form of a semi-permanent floating platform."

This "platform" will consist of a second PCG cutter anchored alongside the one that is already present at Sabina Shoal, according to Global Times. If accurate, the tactic would be a small-scale adaptation of the rafting system used by the Chinese maritime militia's trawlers, which often accumulate in anchored groups in contested areas of the Spratly Islands.

"China has repeatedly stated that it will not allow the Philippines to wantonly occupy [Sabina Shoal], so of course China will not allow the Philippines to deploy another large coast guard ship to anchor . . . and increase the scale of the floating platform," Yang Xiao, a South China Sea specialist at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times.