From The Manila Times -
(UPDATES) THE Chinese Embassy in the Philippines has accused the United States of stoking tensions in the South China Sea (SCS) to advance its own geopolitical interests in the region.
"When diplomatic efforts are being made by China and the Philippines to manage differences, the United States stokes the situation instead of promoting peace and facilitating talks," the embassy said in a statement issued Thursday.
The embassy was reacting to remarks by US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson during an event held by the East-West Center in Hawaii that the chorus against threats to peace and stability in the South China Sea was growing louder and stronger.
Carlson called on China to cease the "harassment" of Philippine vessels in the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The embassy said it was ironic that the US, which has neither signed nor ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), "never failed to use Unclos to denounce others."
It added: "While calling on upholding 'rules-based international order,' the US refuses to execute the judgment and advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice and resolution of the UN General Assembly."
The embassy said the US' application of international law and international order "is selective. It sends aircraft and warships to the South China Sea to flex muscles under the pretext of exercising freedom of navigation."
The embassy also said that during the Covid-19 pandemic, "out of the same geopolitical self-interest, the US, in addition to promoting 'America first,' has unscrupulously smeared Chinese vaccines and medical supplies and thwarted Chinese donation of vaccines and medical supplies to the Philippines."
"Such a disinformation campaign has contributed to hundreds of thousands of deaths in the Philippines and endangered the health of people in the region. The Filipino people and the international community have the right to know the truth. Why has the US Embassy in the Philippines remained silent on that? Mustn't the United States be held accountable for what it did during the pandemic?" it said.
In Washington, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell "raised serious concerns" about Chinese aggressive actions in a call with China's Executive Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, the State Department said.
Campbell also "reiterated that US commitments to the Philippines under the Mutual Defense Treaty remain ironclad," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
Chinese coast guard personnel wielding knives, sticks and an ax surrounded and boarded three Philippine Navy boats last week in the most serious of a number of escalating confrontations.
China has been asserting claims in the strategic South China Sea and separately has put pressure on Taiwan, which it considers part of its territory awaiting reunification.
The United States provides weapons to Taiwan but has been deliberately ambiguous on whether it would come to its defense in a Chinese invasion.
By contrast, the US has a defense treaty with the Philippines that dates to 1951 that says Washington will come to its former colony's aid in case of an "armed attack."
The United States has repeatedly stressed its commitments to the treaty without spelling out publicly, at which point China has crossed a line.
Despite multiple areas of tension, President Joe Biden's administration has worked to expand communication with China to reduce the chance of greater conflict.
Campbell's call was "part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication" between the two powers and "responsibly manage competition in the relationship," Miller said.
In a related development, lawmakers from the European Union and 23 other nations across the globe have condemned the activities of China in the West Philippine Sea, particularly the incident last June 17, which led to a Filipino soldier losing his thumb.
A statement on "Chinese Coast Guard Aggression and Provocation" was issued by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a group of parliamentarians formed on June 4, 2020, during the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.
The alliance aims to help "counter the threat of China's growing influence poses to global trade, security and human rights."
The statement was signed by 33 parliamentarians from the EU and 23 countries, including the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Netherlands, France, Norway and Sweden.
Legislators from Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Albania, Ireland, Romania, Paraguay, and Czechia also signed.
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, one of the signatories of the statement, said the declaration was circulated online three days ago.
"We thank them and appreciate their support for our country, which has been at the receiving end of China's intrusive and aggressive activities in the West Philippine Sea and inside our own 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone," Rodriguez said.
The other Filipino lawmaker who signed the statement is Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Adrian Michael Amatong.
The group said China wants to enforce the "no trespass" rule around the Ayungin Shoal, which is well within the EEZ.
"These rules have no basis in law. On the contrary, in 2016, when asked about the matter, the Arbitral Tribunal established by the United Nations Convention on the Laws Of the Sea — to which both the Philippines and China are a party — ruled that the Shoal was in the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines," the alliance said.
The group also said despite the arbitral ruling, China continues to disrupt "Filipino operations in the area, employing violent tactics, and risking conflict by testing the commitment of the United States to defend the Philippines."
It reminded Beijing that no international body recognizes its claim of jurisdiction over the Ayungin Shoal, regardless of the doctrine of its "nine-dash line," which the alliance described as "outlandish."
It lauded the Armed Forces of the Philippines "for showing restraint in the face of extreme provocation."
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