China warns Philippines about incursions in South Sea

China's Ministry of Defense warned on Sunday that it will take measures to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime interests if the Philippines repeats the intrusion into its waters in the South Sea.
 
On Saturday, Beijing charged that Manila had broken its promise and sent coast guard and replenishment ships without permission to the waters near Ren’ai Jiao.

According to Chinese Coast Guard Spokesman Gan Yu, the Philippines carried out the transfer of supplies to “stranded” illegal warships.

“They transported construction materials, took the opportunity to infringe rights, caused trouble and deliberately undermined peace and stability in the South China Sea,” the spokesperson added.

According to Gan, the Philippine ship “forced its way in and invaded despite repeated deterrence warnings.”

Ties between China and the Philippines have deteriorated rapidly due to the neighboring country’s incursions in the South Sea and its renewed alliance with the United States.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi assured that relations “are going through serious difficulties” because the Philippines “has changed its political stance, has failed to fulfill its commitments, has constantly caused incidents at sea and has damaged the legitimate rights” of Beijing.

In 2022, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who is committed to strengthening the Philippines’ ties with Washington, came to office.