MANILA, Philippines – As the China Coast Guard began implementing its “trespass” rules in the South China on Saturday, June 15, Group of Seven (G7) leaders expressed their opposition to China’s “dangerous” actions against Philippine vessels in the area.
“We remain seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and reiterate our strong opposition to any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force or coercion,” an excerpt of the G7 leaders’ communique said.
The core G7 members are the United States, Italy, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and Canada.
“We continue opposing China’s dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia in the South China Sea and its repeated obstruction of countries’ high seas freedom of navigation,” they added.
The leaders, who are meeting in Apulia, Italy, expressed “serious concern about the increasing use of dangerous maneuvers and water cannons against Philippine vessels.”
“In this regard, we reaffirm that there is no legal basis for China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, and we oppose China’s militarization, and coercive and intimidation activities in the South China Sea,” they said.
The leaders reemphasized the “universal and unified character of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and reaffirm UNCLOS’s important role in setting out the legal framework that governs all activities in the oceans and the seas.”
“We reiterate that the award rendered by the Arbitral Tribunal on 12 July 2016 is a significant milestone, which is legally binding upon the parties to those proceedings, and a useful basis for peacefully resolving disputes between the parties,” they said.
China, which has maritime sovereignty disputes with the Philippines and other countries, issued in May new rules effective June 15 that would enforce a 2021 coast guard law and allow detention of foreigners suspected of trespassing.
In 2021, amid growing alarm over its coast guard law, China insisted that it does not target any particular country.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier said that China’s new policy “is an escalation of the situation” in the West Philippine Sea.
China claims a huge part of the South China Sea as its own. It’s a claim that overlaps with several countries in the region, including the Philippines, leading to routine harassment of Philippine vessels as well as fishermen there.
On the day of the implementation of China’s “trespass” rule, the Philippines filed before the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) a claim over an extended continental shelf (ECS) in the West Philippine Sea.
In May, the defense ministers of the Philippines, US, Japan, and Australia expressed their objection to the “dangerous use” of Chinese militia in West Philippine Sea.
In their summit statement, G7 also warned of action against Chinese financial institutions that helped Russia obtain weapons for its war against Ukraine. – with a report from Reuters/Rappler.com