US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has asked Beijing to abide by its obligations under international law and cease its “provocative behaviour” in the South China Sea, as he reaffirmed the Biden administration’s commitment to defend the Philippines’ armed forces from an “armed attack” by China. Tensions in the South China Sea, which is also contested by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have spiked this year, with Manila accusing Beijing of trying to intimidate its coast guard vessels.
Blinken made the comments on Sunday, in a statement marking the fifth anniversary of a ruling by an independent arbitration tribunal rejecting China’s expansive territorial claims over the strategic waterway, siding with the Philippines. The 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague dismissed China’s claims to the South China Sea, while making clear that China was infringing on Philippine sovereignty through activities such as island-building in Manila’s exclusive economic…