Can a rusty World War II ship purposely beached by the Philippines in 1999 on an atoll in the South China Sea spark a war between Beijing and Manila and drag Washington into it? The answer is yes. So Saturday’s incident, when the Chinese coastguard stopped a Philippine supply vessel from reaching the scene, set alarm bells ringing.
O BRP Sierra Madrea hundred meters long, began its life as USS LST-821an American amphibious tank landing craft that was active in the Pacific during World War II. Renamed USS Harnett County, and altered to become a base for US helicopters, was later called upon to participate in the Vietnam War. According to the US Naval Institute; would eventually be handed over to South Vietnam’s allies, becoming the RVNS My Thohaving helped to evacuate some 3,000 refugees when Saigon fell.
Its destination was the Philippines, which had already recognized the communist government of Hanoi, so the ship was only allowed to dock under American colors and with the promise of being transferred to Philippine control. Before being baptized with the name of a chain of mountains in the country, the Sierra Madre was still the BRP Dumagatehaving served for amphibious transport until its current mission.
The ship was deliberately grounded in 1999 to serve as a base for a group of Filipino soldiers to claim Manila’s sovereignty over the Second Thomas Shoal (known to Filipinos as Ayungin and Chinese as Ren’ai)., at the same time holding back the Chinese – which had occupied a nearby reef in 1995. This atoll, which is completely submerged at high tide, is 200 kilometers from the Philippine island of Padawan and over a thousand kilometers from the southernmost point of China, Hainan Island.
The shoal belongs to the Spratly Islands, an archipelago of more than 750 islets and atolls that is also disputed (in whole or in part) by Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. Only the latter has no physical presence in the archipelago, with China militarizing several islands to assert its territorial claim. Manila has filed more than 400 diplomatic complaints with Beijing since 2020 over what it calls Chinese “illegal activities” in the area.
Beijing claims sovereignty over about 90% of the South China Sea (or South Sea), one of the most important waterways in the world, through which a third of world trade passes and half of the planet’s fishing vessels. In 2016, a court in The Hague ruled that the Chinese had no legal basis for their territorial claims. But they ignored that decision, increasing their presence in the region. Americans frequently conduct freedom of navigation exercises in the area under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Saturday’s incident comes as the Philippines is strengthening ties with the US. During the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, Manila moved closer to Beijing, but the rise to power of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in June 2022, the situation changed, with the rapprochement with Washington – and the availability of four new bases for the US military. The two countries have had a Mutual Defense Treaty since 1951, which can be activated in the event of an attack against Filipino ships anywhere in the Pacific.
Manila accused the Chinese Coast Guard of violating international law by blocking the passage of one of the resupply ships responsible for bringing food, water and fuel to the soldiers who are in the Sierra Madre, even using water cannons (they had already done so in 2021 ).
Beijing, for its part, accused the Filipinos of wanting to deliver construction material to repair the rusty ship, and alleged that Manila had repeatedly promised to tow it. “24 years later, the Philippines has not only not towed the warship, but has attempted to repair and reinforce it on a large scale to allow for a permanent occupation of Ren’ai Reef,” said a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We will never abandon Ayugin”, replied the Filipinos, who called the Chinese ambassador for consultations, having been unable to contact Beijing during the incident. US, European Union, Australia and Japan expressed their support for the Philippines and concern over Chinese actions. Washington, which considers Beijing the biggest threat to its national security, also recalled that any armed attack against the Philippines could trigger the mutual defense treaty.
susana.f.salvador@dn.pt
