U.S. warns China over collisions with Filipino vessels

Washington reminded China on Monday that the United States is obligated to defend the Philippines if any of its forces come under armed attack. The obligation stems from a 1951 mutual defense treaty with the Philippines, the U.S. Department of State said. The United States renewed the warning after Chinese ships collided with two Philippine vessels in the South China Sea on Sunday. Officials said no injuries were reported in the collisions, but the two Philippine ships were damaged.

Why did China ram the boats? According to a Philippine commodore, several Chinese coast guard and navy ships formed a blockade on Sunday to prevent several Philippine vessels from delivering supplies to Second Thomas Shoal.  During the confrontation, a Chinese coast guard ship and a vessel hit a Philippine coast guard ship and a supply boat. Philippine officials on Monday summoned a Chinese Embassy official, who asserted that the ships were intruding into Chinese territory.

Dig deeper: Listen to Mary Reichard’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about President Joe Biden’s foreign policy regarding China.