The year 2024 marked the “most violent” and “dangerous moment” for both Beijing and Manila in their long-running South China Sea dispute, according to several experts interviewed by This Week in Asia.
They all agreed that China was the clear winner in gaining control of more geographic features in the disputed waterway, but most added that Beijing had suffered “reputational damage” in the process.
The Philippines lost control of yet another feature – Sabina Shoal – but was able to leverage multinational support and military assistance to boost its defense position in the troubled waterway, she added.
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Chinese and Philippine ships clash in the first incident under Beijing’s new coast guard law
Chinese and Philippine ships clash in the first incident under Beijing’s new coast guard law
June 17: ‘the heaviest friction’
The turning point in the dispute occurred on June 17, marking an unprecedented escalation and the most dangerous moment, said Professor Hu Bo, director of Beijing University’s Center for Maritime Strategy Studies and the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative.
Hu said China’s coast guard “took lawful measures” to intercept, inspect by boarding and expel six Philippine ships that attempted to deliver supplies to BRP Sierra Madre, a crumbling Philippine warship grounded on Ayungin or Second Thomas Shoal that China calls Renai Jiao.
“Multiple collisions occurred between ships from both sides, leading to close confrontations that far exceeded the intensity of previous standoffs, making this the most serious friction in the South China Sea in the past decade.” he posted on the SCSPI website weeks after the July 12 collision.
“This incident generated a lot of attention worldwide,” Hu said.
It was “the most violent incident” between the two countries in the South China Sea, with a Filipino sailor losing his thumb in the “physical scuffle,” said Lucio Blanco Pitlo, president of the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies.