By THEPHILBIZNEWS STAFF
Following the incident wherein a Chinese coast guard ship cut off a Philippine patrol vessel carrying journalists in the South China Sea last April 23, causing a near-collision incident as narrated by some journalists who witnessed it and were on board in another boat.
In a statement issued by the US State Department through the office of its spokesperson, it said, “The United States stands with The Philippines in the face of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Coast Guard’s continued infringement upon freedom of navigation in the South China Sea”.
The US described that the imagery and video recently published in the media is “a stark reminder of PRC harassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels as they undertake routine patrols within their exclusive economic zone”.
“We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct. The United States continues to track and monitor these interactions closely,” it added.
The US reminded China that it stands with the Philippines in upholding the rules-based international maritime order and reaffirms that an armed attack in the Pacific and continued harassment against the Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft, including those of the Coast Guard, leaves no other recourse for the US but to invoke the U.S. mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 U.S. Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.
