US Ambassador to the Philippines Mary Kay Carlson, highlighted China’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea over the past 18 months at the Manila Dialogue on the South China Sea Panel titled “Peace and Stability in the South China Sea: The Stakes of the International Community.”
Carlson stated that China has engaged in dangerous activities in the South China Sea and these include interfering with Philippine navigation rights and violating the rights of other ASEAN nations such as Vietnam and Indonesia.
Among these actions are the use of water cannons and ramming, which demonstrate a blatant disregard for lives and livelihoods.
“The world has witnessed the PRC’s increasingly dangerous and escalatory actions over the past 18 months, as it unlawfully asserted a claim to territorial sovereignty over vast areas of ocean space, violently interfering with the Philippines’ high seas freedom of navigation in the waters, especially near Second Thomas Shoal, known here in the Philippines as Ayungin,” she remarked.
Carlson further explained that the United States, the Philippines, and like-minded partners aim for a free, open, prosperous, and resilient Indo-Pacific that respects a rules-based international order.
She reiterated that the US unequivocally supports the 2016 ruling that affirmed the Philippines’ sovereign rights in the South China Sea.
Additionally, Carlson emphasized that this ruling highlights how international law applies equally to all nations, regardless of their power.
