The Chinese Embassy in Manila has strongly urged the United States to back off from the West Philippine Sea (WPS) dispute and stop “sowing discord and fanning the flames in the region” by jumping into Manila’s defense. 

Embassy spokesperson Ji Lingpeng’s remarks on Tuesday came in response to separate statements by the US State Department and US Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton criticizing China for engaging anew in a violent confrontation with the Philippines at Ayunging Shoal that left one of Manila’s navy personnel suffering a head injury. 

US State Department spokesperson Thomas Pigott reminded Beijing that its sweeping claims in the South China Sea (SCS), including areas that overlap with the WPS, have “no basis in international law, while Lipton urged the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) and its Navy “to stop their illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions” in the disputed waterway. 

Taking offense over what it called “baseless accusations”, the Chinese embassy cautioned the US that it has no business meddling in the SCS row and that Washington should refrain from “stir[ing] up tension” that undermines the joint efforts of claimant countries in the region to manage maritime dispute. 

“We urge the US side to immediately stop maliciously smearing and criticizing China's legitimate and lawful rights-protection and law-enforcement actions,” the embassy said. 

Washington has consistently backed Manila—its “oldest treaty ally” in Southeast Asia—in its relentless push for maritime independence in the WPS amid Beijing’s territorial claims there, blatantly disregarding the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated China’s nine-dash line claims in asserting jurisdiction over nearly the entire SCS.

China has never honored the decision, calling it “a worthless piece of paper that is illegal, null and void, and has no binding force” in Beijing. 

The confrontation on the morning of 20 July between CCG personnel and a Philippine Navy personnel was the latest in the series of China’s past attacks on Philippine troops, including the blasting of water cannons, military-grade laser pointing, missile deployment and collusion of boats, among others. 

The recent violent encounter left a Filipino soldier seriously wounded after he was repeatedly struck with a wooden baton on the head by a CCG personnel. 

Manila and Beijing summoned each other’s envoys to protest the incident, as both nations traded accusations of provocation. 

The Armed Forces of the Philippines reported that the CCG acted violently when Philippine Navy rubber boats attempted to drive away Chinese vessels operating unlawfully close to the BRP Sierra Madre. During the confrontation, Chinese personnel also punctured and damaged Philippine inflatable boats. 

China, on the other hand, accused the Philippines of deliberately ignoring repeated warnings from Beijing troops and rapidly “approached, encircled, and ramming into the Chinese patrol boat in a dangerous manner.” 

The embassy also alleged that it was the Philippine soldiers who “initiated malicious attacks against the Chinese law enforcement personnel by using oars, long sticks, and other tools.”