China’s coast guard reprimanded the Philippines after a collision between Chinese and Philippine ships in the South China Sea.
The incident occurred Sunday with China accusing the Philippine ship of “intentionally ramming” their vessel as it transported supplies to a grounded warship the Philippines maintains on a reef to preserve their claim in the territory.
“Starting this year, the Philippines no longer informs the Chinese side and started to send building materials in an obvious attempt to repair its deteriorating warship and build some permanent facilities like generators, living quarters and even military fortifications,” read a statement from analyst Chen Xiangmiao in the Chinese media.
Additionally, China blamed the United States for encouraging the “provocation” by the Philippines; the USS Gabrielle Giffords warship passed through waters near the reef last week.
The US claims a desire to ensure the South China Sea, which facilitates more than $3 trillion in commercial activity, remains open to global trade but hasn’t explained how sending warships to the region accomplishes that.
China has previously blamed the United States for generating tensions in Taiwan and the South China Sea, once rhetorically asking if the Asian power should send their combat ships to the Gulf of Mexico as a “show of strength.”
The attempt to balkanize China by backing Taiwan as a separate entity reflects the strategy used by the United States after socialist revolutions also prevailed in Korea and Vietnam.
Recently, the United States sent drone ships near China for the first time amidst a strengthening of forces in the Pacific Ocean. Recent military spending in the United States has highlighted China as an “unprecedented threat” as the Asian country solidifies its status as the world’s largest economic power by purchasing power parity.