MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines did not consider invoking a mutual defence treaty with the United States after accusing China of disrupting a resupply mission in the disputed South China Sea, officials said on Friday.
A Philippine sailor suffered serious injury after what its military described as “intentional-high speed ramming” by the Chinese Coast Guard on Monday, aiming to disrupt a resupply mission for troops stationed on the Second Thomas Shoal.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who also chairs the national maritime council, said the confrontation between Philippine navy sailors and the Chinese coast guard “was probably a misunderstanding or an accident”.
“We are not yet ready to classify this as an armed attack,” Bersamin told a briefing.
The Philippines has a mutual defence treaty with the United States, and U.S. officials including President Joe Biden have reaffirmed its “ironclad” defence commitments against any attack on Philippine aircraft and vessels in the South China Sea.
Andres Centino, a presidential assistant for maritime concerns, said invoking the treaty was not considered in discussions.
The council, however, had recommended to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that its resupply missions to the disputed shoal should continue to be “scheduled regularly”.
(Reporting by Mikhail Flores, Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Ed Davies)
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