Philippines Accuses China Of Invasion

The day before, US President Joe Biden warned Beijing.

The Philippine Foreign Ministry has accused China of invading their waters after an incident involving warships from the two countries.

This is reported by Reuters.

The country's foreign ministry said the Chinese military's claim that a Philippine warship illegally entered waters near the Scarborough Shoal has no legal basis and only serves to raise tensions.

"This is China invading Philippine waters," the department said.

Prior Events

In October, a Chinese Coast Guard ship came across a Philippine resupply boat. Two hours after that, a Chinese maritime police boat ran across a Philippine Coast Guard ship during the same resupply operation.

US President Joe Biden warned China that the US would be forced to intervene if Beijing attacked Philippine vessels.

China-Philippines Relations

Philippines-China relations have been strained recently due to the policies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who has chosen a policy of closer ties with the US.

Earlier this year, Japan, the US and the Philippines decided to strengthen defence cooperation amid a possible Chinese military invasion of Taiwan.

And in March, the US and the Philippines held joint military exercises where they practised defence against potential aggression towards the archipelago.

In addition, China has claims to the entire South China Sea, while under international law it is distributed among several states. Thus, in late September, China set up a "floating barrier" near the Philippines, which prevented their fishing boats from going to sea and working.