The Philippines yesterday denounced China’s alleged assault of Vietnamese fishers in the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing are also locked in violent confrontations that have led to fears of armed conflict.
Vietnam has accused “Chinese law enforcement forces” of beating the 10 fishers with iron bars and robbing them of thousands of dollars’ of fish and equipment on Sunday off the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島).
A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson acknowledged an incident took place there, but disputed the Vietnamese version of the events.
Photo: AP
China and Vietnam both claim the Paracel Islands, but the Philippines does not.
“We strongly condemn the violent and illegal actions of Chinese maritime authorities against Vietnamese fishermen near the Paracel Islands on September 29, 2024,” Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said in a statement.
He described the “unjustified assault” as an “alarming act with no place in international relations.”
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement yesterday saying that it was aware of the “serious incident.”
“The Philippines has consistently denounced the use of force, aggression and intimidation in the South China Sea, and emphasized the need for actors to exercise genuine self-restraint,” it said. “It is a paramount obligation to ensure the safety at sea of vessels and their crew, especially fisherfolk.”
The incident came just over three months after Chinese law enforcement personnel armed with knives, sticks and an axe attacked Filipino troops attempting to resupply a garrison on Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島).
The Chinese seized guns and other equipment, and damaged Philippine boats, while a Filipino sailor lost a thumb in the June 17 melee.
China Coast Guard and other vessels have also rammed, water-cannoned and blocked Philippine government vessels on several occasions around Second Thomas Shoal and Sabina Shoal (Xianbin, 仙濱暗沙) in the Spratly Islands, as well as Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in another area of the sea.
Beijing claims most of the South China Sea and has for years sought to expand its presence in contested areas there, brushing aside an international ruling that its claim to most of the waterway has no legal basis.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
‘LAGGING BEHIND’: The NATO secretary-general called on democratic allies to be ‘clear-eyed’ about Beijing’s military buildup, urging them to boost military spending NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte mentioning China’s bullying of Taiwan and its ambition to reshape the global order has significance during a time when authoritarian states are continuously increasing their aggression, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. In a speech at the Carnegie Europe think tank in Brussels on Thursday, Rutte said Beijing is bullying Taiwan and would start to “nibble” at Taiwan if Russia benefits from a post-invasion peace deal with Ukraine. He called on democratic allies to boost defense investments and also urged NATO members to increase defense spending in the face of growing military threats from Russia
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION: A statement issued following a meeting between Australia and Britain reiterated support for Taiwan and opposition to change in the Taiwan Strait Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday. The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future. The strategy called for Canada to deepen
TECH CONFERENCE: Input from industry and academic experts can contribute to future policymaking across government agencies, President William Lai said Multifunctional service robots could be the next new area in which Taiwan could play a significant role, given its strengths in chip manufacturing and software design, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. “In the past two months, our customers shared a lot of their future plans with me. Artificial intelligence [AI] and AI applications were the most talked about subjects in our conversation,” Wei said in a speech at the National Science and Technology Conference in Taipei. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, counts Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Apple Inc and
RSS