Philippines calls summit of Pacific allies amid fears one ‘wrong move’ could trigger war in South China Sea

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Twenty allies of the Philippines are meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York amid fears that one “wrong move” could escalate tensions in the South China Sea.

The summit is aimed at finding ways to “talk some sense” into China and send a message to president Xi Jinping, Manila’s envoy to America said on Tuesday. Jose Manuel Romualdez did not name any of the countries that are likely to attend.

The Philippine Navy claims China is deploying ever more maritime vessels and warships in the disputed waters amid increasing skirmishes between the two countries.

The Philippines and China have exchanged accusations of intentionally ramming coast guard vessels in the disputed waters in recent months, including a violent clash in June in which a Filipino sailor lost a finger.

The tensions are centred around the Sabina Shoal, a coral atoll in the disputed Spratly Islands which is closer to the Philippines than the earlier flashpoint of the Second Thomas Shoal.

The new flashpoint emerged after the two countries made a deal to try to stop dangerous confrontations at the Second Thomas Shoal.

A series of clashes around Sabina Shoal has caused fears that any misstep at sea could unintentionally spill over into an armed conflict, potentially drawing in the US, the chief ally of the Philippines.

“The more countries band together and give a message to China that what they are doing is definitely not on the right side of history, then we have a better than even chance that they will not make the wrong move that we are all fearing,” Mr Romualdez was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Mr Romualdez told the New America think tank in Washington that the Philippines “has never faced this type of challenge since World War II”, referring to the Chinese actions in South China Sea.

“As of today they have about 238 ships or militia vessels swarming in the area, and they continue to do this day in and day out,” he claimed.

The upcoming summit, he said, is meant “to give a signal to China, that we are not just one but we are many that are not happy with what they’re doing today in the Indo-Pacific region”.

Mr Romualdez said the summit would take place on the sidelines of the annual General Assembly in New York in the week of 22 September.

China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea. Both countries have had clashes over competing claims at several atolls in the sea, where $3 trillion worth of trade passes annually.

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, a spokesperson for the Philippine Navy, reported the largest presence ever of Chinese ships in the disputed waters for the third consecutive week.

He said some of the Chinese vessels withdrew during tropical storm Enteng but they were soon replaced. The deployment of 207 ships was more than 203 vessels recorded between 27 August to 2 September.