New accord establishes a hotline Chinese and Philippine presidents can use to stop clashes

Chinese Coast Guard holds an axe as they approach Philippine troops on a resupply mission in the Second Thomas Shoal at the disputed South China Sea, last month

A recently signed agreement will open a direct line of communication between China and the Philippines’ presidential offices to try and prevent any new confrontation from spiraling out of control in the disputed South China Sea, according to highlights of the accord seen by The Associated Press on yesterday.

China and the Philippines have forged such emergency telephone hotlines at lower levels of their bureaucracies in the past to better manage their disputes, particularly in two fiercely disputed shoals where the Philippines has accused Chinese forces of increasingly hostile actions and China says Philippine ships have encroached despite repeated warnings.

The territorial faceoffs, however, have persisted uncontrollably in the past year, sparking fears of a larger armed conflict that could involve the United States, which has repeatedly warned that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines, a key Asian treaty ally, if Filipino forces come under an armed attack in the disputed waters.

In a confrontation between Chinese and Philippine forces at the Philippines-occupied Second Thomas Shoal in August 2023, the Philippine government said it was unable to reach Chinese officials through an established “maritime communication mechanism” for several hours as the clash happened. That emergency telephone hotline was arranged after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in January 2023.

Chinese and Philippine officials dealing with the territorial disputes held crucial talks in Manila on July 2, following a violent confrontation in the Second Thomas Shoal in which Chinese coast guard personnel reportedly wielded knives, an axe and improvised spears in a chaotic faceoff that injured Philippine navy personnel and damaged two of their motorboats. The Chinese forces also seized seven Philippine navy rifles, said the Philippine military chief, who demanded China return the firearms and pay for the damages.

Both sides “recognized the need to strengthen the bilateral maritime communication mechanism on the South China Sea” and signed an arrangement “on improving Philippines-China maritime communication mechanisms,” the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said in a statement after the talks in Manila, but did not provide a copy or details of the agreement.

A copy of the highlights of the agreement, seen by the AP, said it “provides several channels for communication between the Philippines and China, specifically on maritime issues, through the representatives to be designated by their leaders.”

The hotline talks could also be done “through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs counterparts, including at the foreign minister and vice foreign minister levels or though their designated representatives,” it said, and added without elaborating that Philippine officials were “in discussions with the Chinese side on the guidelines that will govern the implementation of this arrangement.”

There was also a plan to set up a new communication channel between the Chinese and Philippine coast guards “once the corresponding memorandum of understanding” between them is concluded, according to the agreement.

During the recent talks in Manila, China and the Philippines agreed on two other confidence-boosting steps to intensify “cooperation between their respective coast guard authorities” and the possible convening of a maritime forum between Chinese and Philippine scientists and academic leaders.

“Both sides recognized that there is a need to restore trust, rebuild confidence and create conditions conducive to productive dialogue and interaction,” the Philippine department of foreign affairs statement said after the talks. It added that China and the Philippines “affirmed their commitment to de-escalate tensions without prejudice to their respective positions.”

It said that “there was substantial progress on developing measures to manage the situation at sea,” but acknowledged that “significant differences remain.” JIM GOMEZ, MANILA, MDT/AP