China-Philippines maritime conflict could drag US into it as well: Report

It seems as if the current year has not been good at all for the world because we are seeing conflicts one after the other between countries and now we have another conflict which is caused between China and the Philippines and it is warned by analysts that this could become dangerous and even drag the US into it as well. Basically, the matter is that China and Philippines “vessels in the South China Sea send troubling signals that their standoff is worsening to a point where lives could be lost, potentially dragging the world’s two most-powerful militaries into open conflict”.

It is reported that “Chinese Coast Guard water cannons disabled a Philippine boat, as the most serious of four publicized showdowns this year between the two countries in the waters near Second Thomas Shoal, a feature China claims as its territory but where Philippine marines man an outpost on a grounded ship”. It is further added that “The Philippine boats were attempting to bring supplies to the badly deteriorating ship, the Sierra Madre, when the Chinese Coast Guard tried to stop them, both countries acknowledge.”

In a statement, the National Task Force for West Philippine Sea said, Chinese Coast Guard ship “deployed a water cannon against the Philippine supply vessels causing severe damage to (one’s) engines, disabling the vessel and seriously endangering the lives of its crew”. While there were no lives lost in this incident, it is definitely possible that lives could be lost in a similar incident in the future. Analysts warn that “because the Philippines, like nearby Japan and South Korea, has a mutual defense treaty with the United States, deaths of Filipinos could trigger US forces to respond”.

After this, a statement from the US side read that it “stands with our Philippine allies in the face of these dangerous and unlawful actions,” As always, China says that the US has no right to “intervene” in this incident but as we have already mentioned earlier, the US has a treaty with the Philippines and do have every right in this matter. China claims it holds “indisputable sovereignty” over almost all of the South China Sea.