MANILA – The House Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States condemns the unlawful actions of the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) in South China, causing a collision between CCG’s vessels and contracted vessels of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) undergoing a resupply mission for Filipino troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal last Sunday, 22 October.
In a statement, Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX), Ranking Member Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), along Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific Chairwoman Young Kim (R-CA) and Ranking Member Ami Bera (D-CA) issued a statement, saying that they “unequivocally support the Philippines and condemn the unlawful actions by the Chinese Coast Guard in the South China Sea.”
The statement also mentioned that the Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels “intentionally” hit Philippine Coast Guard ships and “continue to violate international law, endanger Filipino crew members, and obstruct Philippine vessels’ access in their own Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)”.
According to the American lawmakers, the incident is “part of a larger pattern of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, the Maritime Militia, and the Chinese Coast Guard’s aggressive and provocative behavior in the South China Sea”.
The said members of the US Congress also called out China for “intruding” in other states’ exclusive economic zones and condemned what they call “Beijing’s maritime intimidation”.
The Committee then welcomes the Biden Administration’s announcement “to increase joint patrols” with the Philippines and other partners in the South China Sea as U.S. affirmation in upholding its commitment under the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.
