China, Philippines set up hotline to prevent South China Sea clashes

MANILA, Philippines — A recently signed agreement will open a direct line of communication between the presidential offices of China and the Philippines to help prevent any new confrontation from spiraling out of control in the disputed South China Sea , according to highlights of the accord seen by The Associated Press on Tuesday.

China and the Philippines have created such emergency telephone hotlines at lower levels in the past to better manage disputes, particularly in two fiercely disputed shoals where the Philippines has accused Chinese forces of increasingly hostile actions and China says Philippine ships have encroached despite repeated warnings.

The territorial disputes, however, have persisted since last year, sparking fears of a larger armed conflict that could involve the United States, which has repeatedly warned that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines , a key Asian treaty ally, if Filipino forces come under attack in the disputed waters.

U.S. Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met Philippine military chief Gen. Romeo Brawner in Manila on Tuesday and discussed ways to further boost defense ties, enhance the militaries’ ability to operate jointly and ensure regional ability, the Philippine military said.

During a confrontation between Chinese and Philippine forces at the Philippines-occupied Second Thomas Shoal in August 2023, the Philippine government said it was unable to reach Chinese officials through an established “maritime communication mechanism” for several hours. That emergency telephone hotline was arranged after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in January 2023.

Chinese and Philippine officials dealing with the territorial disputes held talks in Manila on July 2, following a violent confrontation at the Second Thomas Shoal in which Chinese coast guard personnel reportedly wielded knives, an axe and improvised spears and Philippine navy personnel were injured. The Chinese forces also seized seven Philippine navy rifles, said Brawner, who demanded China return the firearms and pay for damages .

Both sides “recognized the need to strengthen the bilateral maritime communication mechanism on the South China Sea” and signed an arrangement “on improving Philippines-China maritime communication mechanisms,” the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said in a statement after the talks in Manila, but did not provide a copy or details of the agreement.

A copy of the agreement's highlights, seen by the AP, said it “provides several channels for communication between the Philippines and China, specifically on maritime issues, through the representatives to be designated by their leaders."

The hotline talks could also be done “through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs counterparts, including at the foreign minister and vice foreign minister levels or through their designated representatives,” it said, and added without elaborating that Philippine officials were “in discussions with the Chinese side on the guidelines that will govern the implementation of this arrangement."

There was also a plan to set up a new communication channel between the Chinese and Philippine coast guards “once the corresponding memorandum of understanding” between them is concluded, according to the agreement.

During the talks in Manila, China and the Philippines agreed on two other confidence-boosting steps to intensify “cooperation between their respective coast guard authorities” and the possible convening of a maritime forum between Chinese and Philippine scientists and academic leaders.

“Both sides recognized that there is a need to restore trust, rebuild confidence and create conditions conducive to productive dialogue and interaction,” the Philippine department of foreign affairs statement said. It added that China and the Philippines “affirmed their commitment to de-escalate tensions without prejudice to their respective positions.”

It said that “there was substantial progress on developing measures to manage the situation at sea,” but acknowledged that “significant differences remain.”

菲律宾马尼拉——据美联社周二看到的协议要点显示，最近签署的一项协议将在中国和菲律宾总统办公室之间建立直接沟通渠道，以帮助防止在有争议的南海地区发生任何新的对抗并失控。

中国和菲律宾过去曾在较低级别设立过类似的紧急电话热线，以便更好地管控争端，尤其是在两个争议激烈的礁石上，菲律宾指责中国军队采取越来越敌对的行动，而中国则表示，尽管多次警告，菲律宾船只仍然越界。

然而，领土争端自去年以来一直持续，引发了人们对可能卷入更大规模武装冲突的担忧，美国也多次警告说，如果菲律宾军队在争议水域遭到攻击，美国有义务保卫菲律宾——这个重要的亚洲条约盟友。

菲律宾军方表示，美国参谋长联席会议主席布朗将军周二在马尼拉会见了菲律宾国防军总司令罗密欧·布劳纳将军，双方讨论了如何进一步加强防务关系，提高两军联合行动能力，并确保区域能力。

2023年8月，在菲律宾占领的仁爱礁（Second Thomas Shoal）附近，中菲军队发生对峙。菲律宾政府称，数小时内无法通过既定的“海上通信机制”联系到中国官员。这条紧急电话热线是在菲律宾总统小费迪南德·马科斯于2023年1月在北京会见中国国家主席习近平后设立的。

7月2日，中菲两国处理领土争端的官员在马尼拉举行会谈。此前，在仁爱礁附近海域发生暴力冲突，据报道，中国海警人员使用了刀具、斧头和自制长矛，导致菲律宾海军人员受伤。布劳纳表示，中国军队还缴获了七支菲律宾海军步枪，他要求中国归还这些枪支并赔偿损失。

菲律宾外交部在马尼拉会谈后发表声明称，双方“认识到有必要加强南海双边海上沟通机制”，并签署了“关于改善菲中海上沟通机制”的安排，但并未提供协议副本或细节。

美联社看到的一份协议要点副本称，该协议“为菲律宾和中国之间，特别是海上问题，提供了几个沟通渠道，通过两国领导人指定的代表进行沟通”。

声明称，热线会谈也可以“通过外交部和外交部的对口官员进行，包括外交部长和副部长级别，或通过其指定代表进行”，并补充说，菲律宾官员正在“与中方讨论指导该安排实施的准则”，但没有详细说明。

根据协议，双方还计划在“一旦中菲两国签署相应的谅解备忘录”后，建立中菲两国海警之间的新沟通渠道。

在马尼拉的会谈中，中国和菲律宾就另外两项增强互信的措施达成一致，即加强“各自海警部门之间的合作”，以及可能召开中菲科学家和学术领袖之间的海洋论坛。

菲律宾外交部声明称，“双方认识到有必要恢复信任、重建信心，并创造有利于开展富有成效的对话与互动的条件。”声​​明还补充说，中国和菲律宾“重申致力于在不损害各自立场的前提下缓和紧张局势。”

报告称，“在制定应对海上局势的措施方面取得了实质性进展”，但也承认“仍然存在重大分歧”。