(Manila) Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said Tuesday he is considering holding a dialogue with China over last week’s violent confrontation between Chinese coast guard vessels and Philippine sailors in the South China Sea.
Manila hopes to convene a bilateral meeting in early July “to specifically discuss the recent incidents,” Manalo told a public hearing at the Philippine Senate.
“We still believe in the primacy of dialogue, and diplomacy should prevail even in the face of these serious incidents, although I admit that this is also a challenge,” he said.
The minister said that the two countries set up a working group last week.
Last Monday, Chinese sailors armed with knives, sticks and an ax blocked a resupply mission intended for Philippine soldiers stationed on a ship stranded near a reef in an area claimed by both countries.
Second Thomas Atoll is located about 200 kilometers from the island of Palawan, Philippines, and more than 1,000 kilometers from the nearest Chinese territory, Hainan Island.
In a video released by the Philippine army about this altercation, Chinese sailors can be seen shouting and brandishing knives and an ax from small boats, but also hitting an inflatable boat with sticks.
A Filipino sailor lost a thumb in the incident, during which the Chinese coast guard also confiscated or destroyed Filipino equipment, including firearms, according to Manila.
“We firmly conveyed to our counterparts that it was truly incomprehensible that the delivery of basic necessities to our troops could be considered a provocation justifying an intensification of Chinese actions,” added Minister Enrique Manalo.
Beijing reacted for its part to the fact that its coast guards had behaved in a “professional and measured” manner, blaming Manila for the confrontation.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said Sunday that his country would not be “intimidated” by the clash, but stressed the importance of resolving differences peacefully.
Incidents between Chinese coast guards and Filipino sailors have increased in recent months, as Beijing redoubles its efforts to assert its territorial claims in the South China Sea.
