Philippines warns China against ‘acts of war’

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has warned China not to cross a red line in the South China Sea, where a standoff between the countries continues to escalate.

If any Filipino died as a result of China’s wilful actions, he said, the Philippines would consider it as close to “an act of war” and respond accordingly.

Mr Marcos was speaking at a security forum in Singapore attended by defence chiefs from around the world, including the US and China.

In response, a Chinese military spokesman accused the Philippines of “deflecting the blame on China” and “smearing and attacking”.

In recent months the longstanding dispute between China and the Philippines over territory in the South China Sea has sharpened into aggressive clashes.

Manila has complained vociferously about Chinese patrol ships firing water cannon at Philippine boats and supply vessels.

Beijing has said that it is defending its sovereignty. Earlier on Friday, a Chinese military spokesman accused the Philippines of making “provocations”.

Observers fear that any escalation could spark a conflict in the South China Sea between the Chinese and Americans. The US is bound by a treaty signed with the Philippines to come to the south-east Asian nation’s defence, should it come under attack.

The US has previously said it will stand by its “ironclad” commitments to its allies in the region, and has sought to draw them closer including holding a summit with the Philippines and Japan last month.

On Friday, Mr Marcos had just finished delivering the opening address at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore when a delegate posed a hypothetical situation where Chinese water cannon killed a Filipino soldier. He was asked if he would consider that a red line, and if this would invoke the US-Philippines treaty.

“If by a wilful act a Filipino – not only serviceman, but even Filipino citizen – is killed… that is what I think very, very close to what we define as an act of war and therefore we will respond accordingly. And our treaty partners, I believe, also hold that same standard.”

He noted that Filipinos have been injured in recent clashes, but none had been killed yet. “Once we get to that point, that is certainly, we would have crossed the Rubicon. Is that a red line? Almost certainly it’s going to be a red line.”