Blinken Issues Warning Over China’s Violent Sea Confrontations

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised concerns about China’s “increasingly dangerous and unlawful” actions in the South China Sea at the U.S.-ASEAN summit in Laos.

He emphasized the U.S. commitment to defending freedom of navigation in this vital trade route, following a series of confrontations involving China and ASEAN members including the Philippines and Vietnam.

These incidents have raised fears that China’s assertive behavior in the region could escalate into conflict.

China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, which overlaps with the territories of several ASEAN nations, including Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.

Despite a 2016 ruling by a U.N.-affiliated court that rejected China’s expansive claims, Beijing continues to militarize islands and assert control over the disputed waters, which are rich in fishing, oil, and gas resources.

“We are very concerned about China’s increasingly dangerous and unlawful activities in the South China Sea which have injured people, harm vessels from ASEAN nations and contradict commitments to peaceful resolutions of disputes,” said Blinken.

Filling in for President Joe Biden, Blinken reassured ASEAN that the U.S. would continue to uphold freedom of navigation and overflight in the Indo-Pacific region.

While the U.S. has no direct territorial claims in the South China Sea, it frequently deploys naval ships and fighter jets to challenge China’s claims.

Tensions have escalated as Chinese and Philippine vessels clashed several times this year. Vietnam also accused Chinese forces of assaulting its fishermen. Beijing has even dispatched patrol vessels to areas that Indonesia and Malaysia claim as exclusive economic zones.

The U.S. has reiterated its commitment to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if its forces are attacked. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told summit leaders that his country continues to face “harassment and intimidation” from China and expressed regret that the situation in the South China Sea remains “tense and unchanged.” He called for quicker progress on a code of conduct governing the region.

Singaporean leader Lawrence Wong earlier warned of the risk of conflict if the issue is not addressed. Malaysia, which will chair ASEAN next year, is expected to push for faster talks on the code, though disagreements over whether it should be binding have slowed progress.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang responded by describing the South China Sea as a “shared home” and reiterated China’s stance on defending its sovereign rights. He accused external forces of provoking geopolitical conflicts in the region, a veiled reference to the U.S.

Blinken also emphasized maintaining stability across the Taiwan Strait, a critical issue for China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory. Other summit discussions included the civil war in Myanmar, North Korea’s actions, and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press