New Delhi:

India on Friday said it opposes unilateral actions seeking to change the status quo by force in South China Sea amid concerns over China’s escalatory moves against the Philippines’ maritime operations in the region.

Tensions between China and the Philippines escalated following a violent clash between their maritime security personnel a few days ago in the South China Sea.

“We have always emphasised on adherence to international law, respect for the rules-based order, and resolution of disputes in a peaceful manner,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

“Other than that, we also believe that there should not be any incident or approach that destabilises the region,” he said.

Mr Jaiswal also underlined India’s long-held position that the disputes must be resolved peacefully.

“We oppose destabilising or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion as well. And we underline the need for peaceful settlement of disputes,” he said.

There have been growing global concerns over China’s sweeping claims of sovereignty over all of the South China Sea, a huge source of hydrocarbons.

Several countries in the region including Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei, have counterclaims.

India and many other democratic countries have been pressing for peaceful settlement of the disputes and for adherence to international law, especially the UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea).

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke to his Filipino counterpart Eduardo M Ano this week following the fresh tensions in the South China Sea.

Mr Sullivan and Mr Ano discussed shared concerns over China’s “dangerous and escalatory actions against the Philippines’ lawful maritime operations near Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, a White House readout said.

“Mr Sullivan reiterated ironclad US commitment to the US-Philippines Mutual Defence Treaty, which extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft — to include those of its Coast Guard — anywhere in the South China Sea,” it said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

In this photo released by Malaysia’s Department of Information, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim speak during a business luncheon with China’s Premier Li Qiang at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on June 20, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday rejected the notion that China’s dominance is to be feared, calling China a “true friend” at the end of Premier Li Qiang’s visit to mark 50 years of diplomatic ties between their countries.

While the leaders raised some contentious bilateral issues, Mr. Anwar said they discussed them as “equal partners, as trusted friends.” He didn’t give details but was likely referring to the prickly issue of overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea.

“People say, well, Malaysia is a growing economy. Don’t let China abuse its privilege and extort from the country. I said no. To the contrary, we want to benefit from one another, we want to learn from one another and we want to profit from this engagement,” Mr. Anwar told some 200 business leaders at a luncheon attended by Mr. Li.

His words will be welcomed by China’s leadership, which finds itself increasingly at odds with countries from the Philippines to Japan as it grows as a regional power in Asia. During his visit, Mr. Li held up what he called the “friendship” between China and Malaysia as a positive example for country-to-country relations in the region.

Mr. Anwar said he rebuked the “incessant propaganda that we should cast aspersions and fear the dominance of China economically, militarily, technologically.”

“We do not. We in Malaysia, having a neutral stance, have the resolve to work with all countries and with China,” he said. “We see Premier Li Qiang as a friend that would work together with us.”

Mr. Li, who is China’s No. 2 leader after President Xi Jinping, was the first Chinese premier to visit Malaysia since 2015. He flew in for a three-day visit on Tuesday on the last leg of a regional tour. Mr. Li was also the first Chinese premier to visit New Zealand and then Australia in seven years.

The two leaders on Wednesday agreed that China and other claimant countries in Southeast Asia should tackle the South China Sea dispute “independently and properly” through dialogue and cooperation, and via bilateral settlement.

No details were given but the statement came amid concerns the dispute could escalate tensions between the U.S. and China. The U.S. renewed a warning Tuesday that it is obligated to defend treaty ally Philippines, after Chinese forces seized two Philippine boats delivering food and supplies to a military outpost in a disputed shoal and injured several Filipino navy personnel.

Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan all dispute Beijing’s claims to almost the entire South China Sea. Malaysia’s government prefers diplomatic channels and rarely criticizes Beijing publicly, even though Chinese coast guard ships have sailed near Malaysia’s waters. This is partly to protect economic ties as China has been Malaysia’s top trading partner since 2009. Bilateral trade surged to $98.8 billion last year, accounting for 17% of Malaysia’s global trade.

At the luncheon, Mr. Li urged businesses to expand cooperation in emerging fields such as green development, digital economy and artificial intelligence.

“The journey of China and Malaysia over the past 50 years… is like an expedition where two people have joined hands and waded through mountains and rivers, and won a milestone full of achievements. It also marks the official beginning of the next journey full of hope,” Mr. Li said.

Mr. Li was given a red carpet ceremonial send-off and an honor guard as he departed for home later Thursday.

The two countries renewed a five-year trade and economic cooperation pact on Wednesday and inked a rash of pacts to cooperate in various sectors.

The Trade Ministry said 11 more memorandums were signed between Malaysian and Chinese entities on Thursday that could bring in potential investment of 13.2 billion ringgit ($2.8 billion). These included proposed collaborations in high value-added sector such as oil and gas, energy, education, agriculture, automotive and utility services, it said in a statement.

A joint statement by the two governments Thursday said China will extend visa-free travel for Malaysian tourists until end-2025, while Malaysia will reciprocate with a longer period until end-2026.

It said the two countries will also jointly nominate the lion dance, a cultural dance performed during Lunar New Year and festivals, to be on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. About a quarter of Malaysia’s 33 million people are ethnic Chinese.

The Philippine government accused Chinese ships of ramming and damaging their boats in the South China Sea during a confrontation in waters off the Second Thomas Shoal, home to a garrison of Filipino troops.
| Photo Credit: AFP

A Chinese vessel and a Philippine supply ship collided near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on June 17, China’s coast guard said, in the latest flare-up of escalating territorial disputes that have sparked alarm.

The coast guard said a Philippine supply ship entered waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands, part of a territory claimed by several nations.

The Philippines says the shoal falls within its internationally recognized exclusive economic zone and often cites a 2016 international arbitration ruling invalidating China’s expansive South China Sea claims based on historical grounds.

The Chinese coast guard said the Philippine craft “ignored China’s repeated solemn warnings … and dangerously approached a Chinese vessel in normal navigation in an unprofessional manner, resulting in a collision.”

“The Philippines is entirely responsible for this,” the coast guard said in its statement on the social media platform WeChat.

Meanwhile, the Philippine military called the Chinese coast guard’s report “deceptive and misleading,” and said it would “not discuss operational details on the legal humanitarian rotation and resupply mission at Ayungin Shoal, which is well within our exclusive economic zone.” It used the Philippine name for the shoal, where Filipino navy personnel have transported food, medicine and other supplies to a long-grounded warship that has served as Manila’s territorial outpost.

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said his country’s armed forces would resist “China’s dangerous and reckless behaviour,” which “contravenes their statements of good faith and decency.”

“We will exert our utmost in order to fulfil our sworn mandate to protect our territorial integrity, sovereignty, and sovereign rights,” Mr. Teodoro said. “It should now be clear to the international community that China’s actions are the true obstacles to peace and stability in the South China Sea.”

The United States condemned China’s “aggressive, dangerous manoeuvres” near the shoal, which “caused bodily injury, damaged Philippine vessels and hindered lawful maritime operations to supply food, water and essential supplies to Philippine personnel within the Philippine exclusive economic zone,” U.S. Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson said in a statement on X.

Two speedboats — attempting to deliver construction materials and other supplies to a military vessel stationed at the shoal — accompanied the supply ship, according to China’s Foreign Ministry, which described its coast guard’s manoeuvre as “professional, restrained, reasonable and lawful.”

The Foreign Ministry did not expand on the extent of the damage to the Chinese or Philippine vessels.

Several incidents have happened in recent months near the shoal which lies less than 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from The Philippines coast and where it maintains an outpost aboard the BRP Sierra Madre, which had been encrusted with rust since it was deliberately grounded in 1999 but remains an actively commissioned military vessel, meaning an attack on it could be considered by the Philippines as an act of war.

China has increasingly become assertive in pressing its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea, which has led to a rising number of direct conflicts with other countries in the region, most notably the Philippines and Vietnam.

A new law by China, which took effect Saturday, authorizes its coast guard to seize foreign ships “that illegally enter China’s territorial waters” and to detain foreign crews for up to 60 days. The law renewed a reference to 2021 legislation that says China’s coast guard can fire upon foreign ships if necessary.

At least three coastal governments with claims to the waters — the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan — have said they would not recognize the law.

The territorial disputes have strained relations and sparked fears the conflict could bring China and the United States, a longtime treaty ally of the Philippines, into a military confrontation. Washington lays no territorial claims to the busy seaway, a key global trade route, but has warned that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack in the South China Sea.

Aside from China, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei are also involved in the long-seething territorial disputes, which are regarded as a flashpoint in Asia and a delicate fault line in the longstanding U.S.-China rivalry in the region.

Indonesia has also confronted Chinese coast guard and fishing fleets in the past in the gas-rich waters off the Natuna islands in the fringes of the South China Sea where it blew Chinese fishing boats it had taken under custody. Its navy also fired warning shots at Chinese vessels straying into what Jakarta regards as its exclusive economic zone.

Beijing:

A Philippine ship and a Chinese vessel collided near the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Monday, the Chinese Coast Guard said.

Known in Chinese as the Ren’ai Reef, the Second Thomas Shoal hosts a garrison of Philippine troops on a grounded navy vessel, the Sierra Madre, to assert Manila’s claims to the waters.

The area has seen a number of confrontations between Chinese and Philippine ships, often during Philippine attempts to supply the garrison.

The Shoal lies about 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan and more than 1,000 kilometres from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan island.

The Chinese coast guard said in a statement Monday that a Philippine resupply ship in the area had “ignored many solemn warnings from the Chinese side”.

It “approached the… Chinese vessel in an unprofessional way, resulting in a collision”, the statement said.

Beijing accused the ship of having “illegally broken into the sea near Ren’ai Reef in China’s Nansha Islands”.

“The Chinese Coast Guard took control measures against the Philippine ship in accordance with the law.”

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. 

This month, Manila accused Chinese boats of illegally seizing food and medicine airdropped to the Philippine outpost at the Second Thomas Shoal.

It was the first time supplies had been seized, the military said.

Chinese personnel on the boats later dumped the items in the water, Philippine Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad said.

It was not clear if they belonged to the Chinese coast guard or navy, the military said.

China in response insisted the Sierra Madre was illegally grounded on the reef and urged the Philippines to “stop making trouble”.

‘Dangerous’ incursions 

On Saturday, new Chinese coast guard rules took effect under which it can detain foreigners for alleged trespassing in the disputed sea.

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

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

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

There have also been collisions that injured Philippine troops.

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

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.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Representational image of a fisherman raising a Philippine flag on his boat in the South China Sea
| Photo Credit: AP

A Chinese vessel and a Philippine supply ship collided near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Monday, China’s coast guard said.

The coast guard said a Philippine supply ship entered waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands that’s part of territory claimed by several nations.

ALSO READ | China says U.S. plays ‘dishonourable role’ supporting Philippines in South China Sea

The Chinese coast guard said in a statement on the social media platform WeChat the Philippine supply ship “ignored China’s repeated solemn warnings… and dangerously approached a Chinese vessel in normal navigation in an unprofessional manner, resulting in a collision”.

“The Philippines is entirely responsible for this,” it added.

The Philippines says the shoal, which lies less than 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from its coast, falls within its internationally recognised exclusive economic zone and often cites a 2016 international arbitration ruling that invalidated China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea based on historical grounds.

Several incidents have happened in recent months near the shoal, where the Philippines maintains a post aboard the BRP Sierra Madre ship.

ALSO READ |South China Sea: Asia’s disputed waters

The territorial disputes have strained relations and sparked fears the conflict could bring China and the United States, a longtime treaty ally of the Philippines, into a military confrontation.

Washington lays no territorial claims to the busy seaway, a key global trade route, but has warned that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack in the South China Sea.

Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are also involved in the long-seething territorial disputes, which are regarded as a flashpoint in Asia and a delicate fault line in the longstanding U.S.-China rivalry in the region.

China claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea, brushing aside claims from several Southeast Asian nations. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

New Chinese coast guard rules took effect on Saturday, under which it can detain foreigners for trespassing in the disputed South China Sea, where neighbours and the G-7 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.

Detention upto 60 days

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,” the coast guard added.

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.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has warned China not to cross a red line in the South China Sea, saying If any Filipino died as a result of Beijing’s wilful actions, Manila would consider it as close to “an act of war” and respond accordingly.

Addressing the defence-and-security focused Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday night, Mr. Marcos sought to deepen defence cooperation with the U.S. as he stands up to the Chinese military’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea.

“We shall strengthen our alliances with the United States and our strategic partnerships with Australia, Japan, Vietnam, Brunei, and all the other member states of ASEAN. We will also pursue more robust collaborations with countries such as the Republic of Korea, India amongst others,” Mr. Marcos said.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam claim parts of it.

Mr. Marcos said the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries had a vision for “peace, stability, and prosperity” in the South China Sea, but that this was being undermined by other actors.

“Unfortunately, this vision remains for now a distant reality. Illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions continue to violate our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction,” Mr. Marcos said.

“If a Filipino citizen was killed by a wilful act, that is very close to what we define as an act of war,” he said.

“We would have crossed the Rubicon. Is that a red line? Almost certainly,” he asserted.

China’s determining influence over the security situation and the economic evolution of this region is a permanent fact, he said.

“At the same time, the stabilising presence of the United States is crucial to regional peace. It’s never a choice. Both countries are important,” he underscored.

Mr. Marcos pointed out that security in the South China Sea, through which a huge volume of trade passes, is a global issue.

Mr. Marcos said tensions between the U.S. and China were destabilising for Southeast Asia, calling on Washington and Beijing to work harder to resolve disputes.

“Their rivalry is constraining the strategic choices of regional states. Their contest is exacerbating flashpoints and has created new security dilemmas,” Mr. Marcos said.

“The continued stability of this region requires China and the United States to manage their rivalry in a responsible manner,” he said.

Manila and Beijing have a long history of maritime territorial disputes, but tensions have worsened under Mr. Marcos, who has insisted the Philippines will not give up a “square inch of our territory”.

In recent months the simmering dispute between China and the Philippines over territory in the South China Sea has sharpened into aggressive clashes. Manila has denounced Chinese patrol ships firing water cannons at Philippine boats and supply vessels, injuring some personnel.

Mr. Marcos said on Friday that the South China Sea dispute is an issue that goes beyond the Asia-Pacific region.

The peace and stability of the South China Sea and the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea is a world issue, Mr. Marcos said.

The Philippines, a treaty ally of the U.S., is a key focus of Washington’s efforts to strengthen alliances and partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region as it seeks to counter China’s growing military might and influence.

Given its position in the South China Sea and proximity to self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own, Philippine support would be crucial for the U.S. in the event of any conflict.

The Philippines expanded a 2014 agreement last year to give U.S. military access to another four of its military bases, taking the total number to nine, including two in the far north of the country, less than 450km from Taiwan.

The Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) also allows U.S. troops to rotate through and store defence equipment and supplies.

The U.S.’ growing presence in the region and its regular deployment of warships and fighter jets in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea have infuriated Chinese leaders in Beijing.

China has accused the U.S. of using the Philippines as a “pawn to stir up trouble in the South China Sea”, according to U.S.-China affair watchers and analysts.

China’s Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun is scheduled to address the annual Dialogue on Sunday and is expected to respond to China-related issues on the South China Sea.

The security forum in Singapore was attended by U.S. Defence Secretary Austin and defence chiefs from around the world.

A Philippine Coast Guard personnel looks through a binocular while conducting a resupply mission for Filipino troops stationed at a grounded warship in the South China Sea. File
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

The Philippines said on Saturday it has deployed ships to a disputed area in the South China Sea, where it accused China of building “an artificial island” in an escalating maritime row.

The coast guard sent a ship “to monitor the supposed illegal activities of China, creating ‘an artificial island’,” the office of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said in a statement, adding two other vessels were in rotational deployment in the area.

Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela told a forum there had been “small-scale reclamation” of the Sabina Shoal, which Manila calls Escoda, and that China was “the most probable actor”.

The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Philippine assertions, which could deepen the bilateral rift.

The Philippine national security adviser called on Friday for expelling Chinese diplomats over an alleged leak of a phone conversation with a Filipino admiral about the maritime dispute.

Beijing and Manila have been embroiled for a year in heated stand-offs over their competing claims in the South China Sea, where $3 trillion worth of trade passes annually.

China claims almost all of the vital waterway, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in 2016 that Beijing’s claims had no basis under international law.

China has carried out extensive land reclamation on some islands in the South China Sea, building air force and other military facilities, causing concern in Washington and around the region.

A Philippine vessel has been anchored at the Sabina Shoal to “catch and document the dumping of crushed corals over the sandbars”, Tarriela said, citing the “alarming” presence of dozens of Chinese ships, including research and navy vessels.

Tarriela said the presence of Chinese vessels at the atoll 124 miles (200 km) from the Philippine province of Palawan coincided with the coast guard’s discovery of piles of dead and crushed coral.

The coast guard will take marine scientists to the areas to determine whether the coral piles were a natural occurrence or caused by human intervention, he said.

He added it intends to have a “prolonged presence” at Sabina Shoal, a rendezvous point for Philippine vessels carrying out resupply missions to Filipino troops stationed on a grounded warship at the Second Thomas Shoal, where Manila and China have had frequent maritime run-ins.

Chinese Coast Guard vessels fire water cannons towards a Philippine resupply vessel Unaizah on May 4 as it made its way to the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, March 5, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The Philippines’ national security adviser called on May 10 for Chinese diplomats to be expelled over an alleged leak of a phone conversation with a Filipino admiral, in a significant escalation of a bitter row over the South China Sea.

China’s embassy in Manila had orchestrated “repeated acts of engaging and dissemination of disinformation, misinformation and malinformation”, with the objective of sowing discord, division and disunity, Eduardo Ano said in a statement.

Those actions “should not be allowed to pass unsanctioned without serious penalty”, he said.

China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the call to expel diplomats. The office of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and the foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The two countries have been embroiled in a series of heated standoffs this past year in disputed areas of the South China Sea as the Philippines, emboldened by support from the United States and other allies, steps up activities in waters patrolled by China’s coast guard.

China has accused the Philippines of trespassing and of treachery, while Manila has scolded Beijing for what it says is a policy of aggression and dangerous manoeuvring.

The expelling of diplomats could intensify a row that has so far seen heated exchanges, diplomatic protests and the ramming and water-cannoning of Philippine ships at two disputed shoals in the South China Sea.

Mr. Ano was referring to a news report this week of an alleged leak of a call between a Chinese diplomat and a Filipino admiral discussing a dispute over the South China Sea, which carried a transcript that showed the admiral agreeing to concessions with China.

According to the transcript published by the Manila Times, a Philippine admiral had agreed to China’s proposal of a “new model”, where the Philippines would use fewer vessels in resupply missions to troops at the Second Thomas Shoal, and notify Beijing about missions in advance.

Reuters has not heard the reported phone conversation and could not verify the contents of the published transcript. The report said the conversation had taken place in January and the transcript was provided by a “ranking Chinese official”, which it did not name.

Interference Operations

Mr. Ano said he backed the defence minister’s call for the foreign ministry to take appropriate action against embassy officials, who he said claimed to have recorded an alleged phone conversation in violation of Philippine laws, including its anti-wire tapping act, as well as serious breaches of diplomatic protocols.

“Those individuals in the Chinese embassy … and those responsible for these malign influence and interference operations must be removed from the country immediately,” he said.

China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on May 8 the embassy in Manila had released details about “relevant communications” between the two countries on managing the situation at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines has for stations troops at a grounded warship.

Mr. Jian did not elaborate on what details or communications were released, but said “facts are clear and backed by hard evidence that cannot be denied.”

“The Philippines has insisted on denying these objective facts and seeks to mislead the international community,” Mr. Jian added.

China has long been vexed by the Philippines’ stationing of a small group of marines at the Second Thomas Shoal aboard a warship that it intentionally grounded 25 years ago.

Beijing has repeatedly said the Philippines had agreed to tow that ship away, which Manila has rejected.