China nearly doubled the number of military and coast guard ships it sent to a key flashpoint in the South China Sea last month, according to Manila's military.
uncertain
it → double → military
It comes as a series of increasingly tense encounters raises the risk of confrontation with a U.S. treaty ally located in the disputed waters.
asserted
series → come → waters
The Armed Forces of the Philippines said it tracked 101 different Chinese navy and coast guard vessels around four disputed areas over the course of September, up from 56 in August and 48 in July.
asserted
it → say → July
The sharp increase comes as Chinese and Philippine forces have faced off both at sea and in the air, including an encounter over the weekend in which Manila accused a Chinese fighter jet of repeatedly maneuvering dangerously close to an unarmed Philippine patrol plane.
asserted
Manila → come → plane
China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, including waters that fall within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, and uses coast guard ships, naval vessels and aircraft to assert those claims.
uncertain
that → claim → claims
Manila has continued patrolling the waters and resupplying Philippine positions, bringing forces from the two countries into repeated close contact.
asserted
Manila → continue → contact
The confrontations carry particular stakes for Washington: the Philippines is a U.S. treaty ally, and the U.S. has repeatedly said its Mutual Defense Treaty with Manila applies to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels and aircraft — including in the South China Sea.
asserted
Treaty → carry → Sea
The latest Philippine count showed the largest number of Chinese vessels around Scarborough Shoal, where 39 different Chinese coast guard and People's Liberation Army Navy ships were observed during September.
asserted
ships → show → September
Another 28 were tracked around Thitu Island, known in the Philippines as Pag-asa; 23 around Second Thomas Shoal; and 11 around Sabina Shoal.
asserted
28 → track → Shoal
Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, an Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said the figures showed China's continued "illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive" activities in the region.
But Philippine officials stopped short of concluding that the jump represented a broader shift in China's strategy.
asserted
jump → say → strategy
Asked why the number had nearly doubled from August, Trinidad said the military wanted to examine a longer period before drawing conclusions about the trend.
asserted
military → ask → trend
The increase comes as the two sides have repeatedly confronted each other around some of the same contested waters.
asserted
sides → come → waters
On Saturday, a Philippine C-208 maritime patrol aircraft was flying near Scarborough Shoal when it encountered two Chinese military aircraft, according to the Philippine military.
uncertain
it → fly → military
Manila said one of the aircraft, a Chinese J-16 fighter, repeatedly approached the unarmed Philippine plane and maneuvered in front of and behind it at what the military described as an unsafe distance.
asserted
military → say → distance
"This incident is part of a recurring pattern of unsafe and coercive behavior against Philippine government vessels and aircraft conducting lawful operations," the Philippine military said.
asserted
military → recur → operations
The Philippine aircraft completed its mission and returned safely to base.
asserted
aircraft → complete → base
Beijing offered a sharply different account, saying the Philippine aircraft had entered airspace over Huangyan Dao, China's name for Scarborough Shoal, without permission and that Chinese forces took "necessary measures" in response.
asserted
forces → offer → response
Scarborough Shoal sits about 120 miles west of the Philippine island of Luzon and has become one of the most persistent flashpoints between Beijing and Manila.
asserted
Shoal → sit → Beijing
China has effectively controlled access to the shoal since a 2012 standoff, while the Philippines maintains that it falls within its exclusive economic zone.
asserted
it → control → zone
China claims sovereignty over Scarborough and much of the South China Sea, overlapping claims by the Philippines and several other Southeast Asian nations.
uncertain
China → claim → Philippines
An international tribunal ruled in 2016 that China's sweeping historic-rights claims in the South China Sea had no legal basis, a ruling Beijing rejects.
uncertain
Beijing → rule → ruling
The encounters have continued despite a recent diplomatic thaw between Washington and Beijing, with President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasizing stability in the relationship during Xi's state visit to Washington.
asserted
Trump → continue → Washington
Days before the latest air encounter, Chinese coast guard and naval vessels moved to block a Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal, another major flashpoint in the dispute.
asserted
vessels → move → dispute
The Philippines deliberately grounded the aging BRP Sierra Madre at Second Thomas in 1999 and keeps a small contingent of troops aboard the rusting ship to maintain its presence.
asserted
Philippines → ground → presence
Chinese vessels have repeatedly tried to block missions carrying food, water and other supplies to those troops.
asserted
vessels → try → troops
The latest incidents put renewed attention on Washington's defense commitment to Manila.
asserted
incidents → put → Manila
The two countries have been bound by their Mutual Defense Treaty since 1951, and the U.S. has said an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, aircraft or public vessels anywhere in the South China Sea would invoke U.S. obligations under the treaty.
asserted
attack → bind → treaty
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