Chinese ships have repeatedly rammed Philippine ships in the South China Sea. The U.S. has a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines, which could lead to American intervention.

An escalating series of clashes in the South China Sea between the Philippines and China could draw the U.S., which has a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines, into the conflict.

A 60 Minutes crew got a close look at the tense situation when traveling on a Philippine Coast Guard ship that was rammed by the Chinese Coast Guard.

China has repeatedly rammed Philippine ships and blasted them with water cannons over the last two years. There are ongoing conversations between Washington and Manila about which scenarios would trigger U.S. involvement, Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro said in an interview.

“I really don’t know the end state,” Teodoro said. “All I know is that we cannot let them get away with what they’re doing.”

China as “the proverbial schoolyard bully”

China claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, through which more than $3 trillion in goods flow annually. But in 2016, an international tribunal at the Hague ruled the Philippines has exclusive economic rights in a 200-mile zone that includes the area where the ship with the 60 Minutes team on board got rammed.

China does not recognize the international tribunal’s ruling.

    • @[email protected]
      2•2 months ago

      1 - I’m not the one hyper focusing on the 9 or 10 or 11 dash line* China is the one hyper focusing

      2 - there’s no treaty that specifically mentions those territories, which is why China has to resort to a made up map with some unclear made up lines. If there were a real treaty, they’d use that to argue

      3 - Even if there were a treaty, the validity would be questionable. Is the treaty between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union regarding the partitioning of Poland still valid? Would a German invasion of Poland be justified by that treaty? Or by Russia?

      4 - China has signed UNCLOS, a much more modern and real treaty, with clear laws. They then went to the UNCLOS tribune to plead their case and lost in court.

      5 - it’s just imperialism. They want to control more territory, so they do

      ^(* Historical claims may vary depending on current political objectives )