New Chinese coast guard rules took effect Saturday, under which it can detain foreigners for trespassing in the disputed South China Sea, where neighbours and the G7 have accused Beijing of intimidation and coercion.

Beijing claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea, brushing aside competing claims from several Southeast Asian nations including the Philippines and an international ruling that its stance has no legal basis.

China deploys coast guard and other boats to patrol the waters and has turned several reefs into militarised artificial islands. Chinese and Philippine vessels have had a series of confrontations in disputed areas.

From Saturday, China’s coast guard can detain foreigners “suspected of violating management of border entry and exit”, according to the new regulations published online.

Detention is allowed up to 60 days in “complicated cases”, they say.

“Foreign ships that have illegally entered China’s territorial waters and the adjacent waters may be detained.”

Manila has accused the Chinese coast guard of “barbaric and inhumane behaviour” against Philippine vessels, and President Ferdinand Marcos said last month called the new rules a “very worrisome” escalation.

China Coast Guard vessels have used water cannon against Philippine boats multiple times in the contested waters.

There have also been collisions that injured Filipino troops.

Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner told reporters on Friday that authorities in Manila were “discussing a number of steps to be undertaken in order for us to protect our fishermen”.

Philippine fishermen were told “not to be afraid, but just to go ahead with their normal activities to fish there in our Exclusive Economic Zone”, Brawner said. 

G7 criticism

The Group of Seven bloc on Friday criticised what it called “dangerous” incursions by China in the waterway.

“We oppose China’s militarisation, and coercive and intimidation activities in the South China Sea,” read a G7 statement at the end of a summit on Friday.

The South China Sea is a vital waterway, where Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei also have overlapping claims in some parts.

Most recently, however, confrontations between China and the Philippines have raised fears of a wider conflict over the sea that could involve the United States and other allies.

Trillions of dollars in ship-borne trade passes through the South China Sea annually, and huge unexploited oil and gas deposits are believed to lie under its seabed, though estimates vary greatly.

The sea is also important as a source of fish for growing populations.

China has defended its new coast guard rules. A foreign ministry spokesman said last month that they were intended to “better uphold order at sea”.

And the Chinese defence minister warned this month that there were “limits” to Beijing’s restraint in the South China Sea.

China has also been angered in the past by US and other Western warships sailing through the South China Sea.

The US Navy and others undertake such voyages to assert the freedom of navigation in international waters, but Beijing considers them violations of its sovereignty.

Chinese and US forces have had a series of close encounters in the South China Sea.

China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, the most advanced homemade warship, began its maiden sea trials on May 1 as Beijing ramped up its naval power amid increasing tensions with the U.S. in the disputed South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.

The ship left Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard on May 1 morning for the sea trials, primarily to test the reliability and stability of the aircraft carrier’s propulsion and electrical systems, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Since its launch in June 2022, the Fujian has completed its mooring trials, outfitting work and equipment adjustments. It has met the technical requirements for sea trials.

Ahead of the trials, China has imposed maritime traffic controls around the mouth of the Yangtze River where the Jiangnan shipyard ship is located for “military activities”.

The traffic controls would last till May 9, the report said.

According to the previous official media reports, China plans to have five to six aircraft carriers by 2035 for strategic deployment in the disputed South China Sea, where Beijing seeks to assert its claims over most of the vast area, the Taiwan Strait which separates the Chinese mainland and Taiwan and the Indian Ocean where Beijing is increasing its power projection.

Currently, the Chinese navy is involved in a standoff with the US-backed Philippines naval ships in the South China Sea.

The Philippines is trying to assert its claim over the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea which is strongly resisted by China.

China claims most of the South China Sea. The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims.

China names its aircraft carriers after its provinces. Fujian borders the Taiwan Strait. The other two carriers were named after Liaoning and the Shandong provinces.

China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was a refit of the Soviet-era ship commissioned in 2012 followed by the indigenously built 2nd aircraft carrier Shandong in 2019.

Chinese official media said Fujian is the “first fully domestically developed and constructed” aircraft carrier with an electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) similar to that of the American aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford.

Fujian has a full displacement of more than 80,000 tonnes, about 20,000 tonnes more than the other two aircraft carriers.

China’s other two aircraft carriers are equipped with ski-jump take-off ramps while the Fujian features a flat-top flight deck.

China operates its indigenously built J-15 aircraft for its carriers.

In a major rejig of its military doctrine, China in 2013 stepped up the development of the navy with a massive budget while cutting down the number of army troops as part of its power projection far from its shores.

The modernisation included building several aircraft carriers besides submarines, frigates and assault ships as part of its efforts to expand its global influence.

According to an estimate, China is building almost a naval ship a month. It is helping Pakistan to modernise its navy by providing its latest naval frigates and submarines.

A Philippine supply boat sails near a Chinese Coast Guard ship during a resupply mission for Filipino troops stationed at a grounded warship in the South China Sea, on October 04, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A Chinese coast guard ship came within a meter (3 feet) of colliding with a Philippine patrol ship it was trying to block in the South China Sea, in an alarming incident that intensified fears that territorial disputes in the waters could spark a larger crisis.

The Philippines on Friday strongly condemned the Chinese ship’s maneuvers near Second Thomas Shoal, which the Asian neighbors both claim and has been the scene of frequent confrontations.

One other Philippine coast guard vessel was blocked and surrounded by Chinese coast guard and militia ships in the incident, which dragged on for about eight hours on Wednesday. A major clash in the disputed waters could potentially involve the United States, which has vowed to defend the Philippines, its treaty ally, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under armed attack.

Two smaller supply boats being escorted by the Philippine coast guard in the contested waters managed to breach the Chinese blockade and delivered food and other supplies to a Filipino marine outpost at the shoal.

“We condemn the behavior of the Chinese coast guard vessel. They have been violating international law, particularly the collision regulations,” Philippine coast guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said at a briefing Friday.

A collision was averted when one of the two Philippine coast guard vessels, the BRP Sindangan, rapidly reversed its engine to avoid slamming into the Chinese coast guard ship that crossed its bow at a distance of only a meter, Tarriela said.

It’s “the closest dangerous maneuver” by any Chinese coast guard ship against a Philippine patrol ship, he said.

The incident was witnessed by several journalists, including from The Associated Press, who were invited by the Philippine coast guard to join the voyage as part of a strategy aimed at exposing Chinese aggressive actions in the South China Sea.

A small contingent of Filipino marines and navy personnel has stood guard for years on a long-marooned but still commissioned warship, the BRP Sierra Madre, at the shoal. China has surrounded it with its coast guard ships and militia vessels to prevent the Philippines from delivering construction materials that Beijing fears could be used to reinforce the Sierra Madre and turn it into a permanent territorial outpost.

Wednesday’s hostilities began at dawn when a Chinese coast guard ship closely tailed the Philippine vessels enroute to Second Thomas Shoal. A swarm of Chinese coast guard and militia ships, including at least one navy warship, later emerged and formed a blockade in the high seas off the shoal.

A Chinese coast guard radio operator asserted repeatedly to the BRP Sindangan that “China has indisputable sovereignty” over Second Thomas Shoal and outlying waters. “To avoid miscalculations, leave and keep out,” the Chinese radio operator warned.

Filipino coast guard personnel responded by asserting Philippine rights to the area and said they would proceed with the delivery of the supplies.

The Chinese coast guard said in a statement Wednesday night that the Philippine vessels entered the waters “without permission from the Chinese government” and that “China firmly opposes the Philippines illegally transporting building materials to the ‘grounded’ military boat.“ It said it gave a stern warning to the Philippine vessels and monitored them throughout the process.

It was the latest flare-up in long-simmering territorial disputes in the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest trade routes. The conflicts, which involve China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei, are regarded as a potential flashpoint and have become a delicate fault line in U.S.-China rivalry in the region.

In early August, a Chinese coast guard ship used a water cannon against one of two Philippine supply boats to prevent it from approaching Second Thomas Shoal. The move, which was caught on video, outraged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and prompted the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila to summon the Chinese ambassador to convey a strongly worded protest.

Washington reacted by renewing a warning that it is obligated to defend the Philippines as a treaty ally.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry accused Washington of “threatening China” by raising the possibility of activating the U.S.-Philippine mutual defense treaty. Beijing has repeatedly warned the U.S. not to meddle in regional territorial disputes.

Later in August, the Philippines again deployed two boats, which succeeded in maneuvering past the Chinese coast guard blockade and completing the delivery of supplies to the Filipino forces at Second Thomas Shoal. Two Philippine coast guard ships securing the supply boats, however, were prevented by Chinese coast guard ships from maneuvering closer to the shoal. A U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft flew in circles in support of the Philippine vessels as the standoff continued for more than three hours.

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro expressed concern over dangerous Chinese actions at sea and said the government is ready to respond to potential emergencies, including any collision between Chinese and Philippine ships in the disputed waters.

“Naturally the concern is always there, and we take that into account,” Teodoro said Tuesday night. “We have plans depending on what happens.”

A 2016 arbitration ruling set up under the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea invalidated Beijing’s claims on historical grounds to virtually the entire South China Sea. China refused to participate in the arbitration sought by the Philippines, rejected the decision as a sham and continues to defy it.

A Philippine Coast Guard personnel cuts the rope connecting the floating barrier that was installed near the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, in an undated handout photo released on September 25, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Philippine officials vowed Monday to remove a floating barrier placed by China’s coast guard to prevent Filipino fishing boats from entering a disputed lagoon in the South China Sea.

They said the 300 metre-long barrier at the entrance to the lagoon at Scarborough Shoal is “illegal and illegitimate.” Chinese coast guard vessels laid the barrier, held up by buoys, on Friday as a Philippine government fisheries vessel approached. More than 50 Philippine fishing boats were outside the shoal at the time, the Philippine coast guard said.

“We condemn the installation of floating barriers by the Chinese coast guard,” Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said. “The placement by the People’s Republic of China of a barrier violates the traditional fishing rights of our fishermen.”

Mr. Ano said in a statement that the Philippines “will take all appropriate actions to cause the removal of the barriers and to protect the rights of our fishermen in the area.” He did not elaborate.

Also Read: The Philippines weighs legal options against China over coral reef ‘destruction’

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the shoal and its adjacent waters are “China’s inherent territory,” where Beijing “has indisputable sovereignty.”

A Philippine government fisheries vessel “trespassed into the waters” without China’s permission on September 22, Mr. Wang said, and “attempted to intrude into the lagoon” of the shoal. “China’s coast guard took the necessary measures to stop and warn off the ship in accordance with the law, which was professional and with restraint,” he added.

It’s the latest flare-up in long-simmering territorial disputes in the busy and resource-rich waterway, most of which is claimed by China. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are involved with China in the conflicts, which have long been regarded as a potential Asian flashpoint and a delicate fault line in the U.S.-China rivalry in the region.

Washington lays no claim to the sea passageway, a major global trade route, but U.S. Navy ships and fighter jets have carried out patrols for decades to challenge China’s expansive claims and promote freedom of navigation and overflight. China has told the U.S. to stop meddling in what it says is a purely Asian dispute.

The Chinese barrier denies Filipinos access to the rich fishing lagoon surrounded by underwater coral outcrops, Philippine coast guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said.

He said China’s coast guard installs the removable barrier when Philippine fishing boats show up in large numbers near the shoal.

“It’s an illegal and illegitimate action coming from the People’s Republic of China,” Mr. Tarriela told reporters. “Definitely it affects our food security.”

A Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ship which anchored off Scarborough on Friday and at least 54 Filipino fishing boats were ordered by four Chinese coast guard ships by radio to leave the territory, saying the Filipinos were breaching Chinese and international law. The Philippine fisheries ship insisted in its radio response that it was on a routine patrol in Philippine waters, Tarriela said.

The Philippines says Scarborough Shoal lies within its exclusive economic zone, a 200-nautical mile stretch of water where coastal states have exclusive rights to fish and other resources.

Those rights were upheld by a 2016 arbitration decision set up under the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, Ano said.

China refused to participate in the arbitration sought by the Philippines in 2013, a year after a tense standoff between Chinese and Philippine ships at Scarborough. Beijing refused to recognize the 2016 arbitration ruling and continues to defy it.

The 2012 standoff ended with Chinese ships seizing and surrounding the atoll.

Chinese coast guard ships have also blocked Philippine government vessels delivering supplies and personnel to Philippine-occupied Second Thomas Shoal, resulting in near-collisions that the Philippine government has condemned and protested.

Washington has said it’s obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under attack, including in the South China Sea.

U.S. President Joe Biden, center left, attends a state luncheon hosted by Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong, center right, at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, on September 11, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

The United States and Vietnam warned on Monday against the “threat or use of force” in the disputed South China Sea, days after the latest clash involving Chinese vessels.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Vietnam’s Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong said the competing claims on the strategic waterway must be settled under international norms.

Beijing claims almost the entire sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, and has ignored an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

“The leaders underscored their unwavering support for the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, without the threat or use of force,” Mr. Biden and Mr. Trong said in a joint statement.

They also called for “freedom of navigation and overflight and unimpeded lawful commerce in the South China Sea”.

The statement came a day after Mr. Biden and Mr. Trong struck a deal to deepen cooperation, widely seen as a way to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the region.

Washington is at loggerheads with Beijing on a range of issues including trade, security, human rights and climate change and is looking to boost its network of allies to counter Chinese influence.

Vietnam, which fought a war with China between 1979 and 1988, is wary of its giant northern neighbour, and is one of a handful of countries with claims on the many islets and outcrops that dot the South China Sea.

Last week the Philippines accused Chinese Coast Guard and “militia” boats of harassing two of its own coast guard vessels as they took supplies to Filipino troops on the Second Thomas Shoal.

The Philippine Navy deliberately grounded an old ship on the shoal in 1999 to check China’s advance in the waters.

China deploys hundreds of vessels to patrol the South China Sea and swarm reefs.

The Philippines, a longtime U.S. ally, has outposts on nine reefs and islands in the Spratly Islands — which Vietnam also claims along with the Paracel Islands.

Manila says Chinese coast guard and navy ships routinely block or shadow Philippine boats in the contested waters.

Tensions between Manila and Beijing flared last month when China Coast Guard vessels used water cannon against a Philippine resupply mission to the reef, preventing one of the boats from delivering its cargo.