Philippines says China poses ‘existential’ threat in South China Sea

The Philippines faces an “existential issue” from Beijing’s threats in the contested South China Sea and will not back down from asserting its claims despite Chinese “bullying”, its defence secretary has said.

Beijing and Manila are locked in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea, where confrontations have escalated in recent months. China claims nearly all of the resource-rich waters, but the Philippines has taken a more assertive stance under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Last month, Marcos warned that any death of a Philippine citizen by “a wilful act” would be considered very close to an “act of war”.

The hostilities have sparked fears of a broader conflict in the region, where Taiwan is also a flashpoint, by threatening to draw in the wider geopolitical rivalry between the US and China.

“This is an existential issue for us,” defence secretary Gilbert Teodoro told the Financial Times in an interview. “We do not seek conflict. But we will not back down if what is ours is illegally taken by somebody, especially a bully.”

Teodoro said the resources in the South China Sea were “necessary to sustain future generations of Filipinos” and that the country was dependent on the international trade that passes through its waters.

The South China Sea, stretching from Singapore to the Taiwan Strait, is abundant in oil and natural gas. It is also a critical trading route, with 10bn barrels of petroleum and petroleum products and 6.7tn cubic feet of liquefied natural gas transiting its waters last year.

“We need all of these resources within the boundaries that have been provided to us by international law, and we need to stand up for this. If not, these will be chipped away by China,” Teodoro said.

A 2016 international arbitration court rejected China’s sweeping claims to the South China Sea, but Beijing has rejected the ruling and its vessels have repeatedly intruded on territory claimed by other countries, including Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Chinese coastguard and maritime militia vessels have used military-grade lasers and water cannons to disrupt Philippine supply missions to the Second Thomas Shoal, a reef in the Spratly Islands inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone where Manila deliberately grounded a warship in 1999.

Manila has said such incidents have injured Philippine soldiers and damaged vessels, and this month accused Beijing of preventing the evacuation of a sick member of its armed forces from the ship and snatching airdropped supplies.

Beijing, in turn, has accused the Philippines of provocation and acting on behalf of the US.

Teodoro refused to say whether Manila was conducting repairs on the ship, which Beijing opposes, but said China had “no business telling us what to do in our own area of jurisdiction”.

China’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Manila’s pushback also reflects its increasing worries about Taiwan, located just 200km from the Philippines’ northernmost tip and which China also claims as part of its territory and has threatened to annex by force. Marcos this week addressed Philippine troops stationed in the north and asked them to prepare for “any eventuality”.

Amid the mounting tensions, the Philippines announced a $35bn military modernisation plan this year, including purchases of submarines.

Teodoro said Manila was enhancing its “deterrent capabilities [and] capabilities to adequately secure” its territory. He declined to provide details, but said the equipment purchase will come from “countries whose strategic interests are aligned with ours”.

The Philippines has also strengthened military ties with countries including the US, UK and Australia and is engaging bilaterally with other South China Sea claimant countries, he added.

Teodoro said the Philippines did not want to escalate tensions, but he expected China to continue its “roguish behaviour”, adding that Beijing’s aggression showed it was not “serious about negotiating in good faith”.

“They’re trying to bully us into submission or they are trying to bully us into appeasement, which we will not agree to,” he said.