A Chinese state broadcast has shown coast guard personnel swearing allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party at Scarborough Shoal, a hotly contested South China Sea feature.
In the footage, aired on Monday by China Central Television, coast guard officers deployed to the South China Sea can be seen standing in rows on the deck of the coast guard cutter Wenshan. Their right fists are raised in a salute as they deliver their oath in unison while four colleagues display the Chinese Communist Party banner.
It was one of many activities organized by Chinese officials that day to mark the 103rd anniversary of the party's founding. The ceremony also signaled a doubling down on Chinese claims over the resource-rich waters and most of the South China Sea.
China's Foreign Ministry and the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to written requests for comment.
Beijing asserts sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal, known in China as "Huangyan Island" and in the Philippines as "Bajo de Masinloc." China effectively wrested control of the reef from the Philippines following a heated territorial standoff with the U.S. ally 12 years ago.
Tensions at Scarborough Shoal, traditionally a fishing ground for Philippine, Chinese, and Vietnamese fishermen, have been rising since last year. Footage of China's coast guard chasing away Philippine fishing crews on multiple occasions sparked outrage and stirred nationalist sentiment in the Southeast Asian country.
In May, a coalition of civilian volunteers undertook a mission to bring supplies to fishermen operating in the area while also protesting China's claim.
Beijing lays claim over some 90 percent of the energy-rich South China Sea within its self-asserted "dashed line," citing historical rights.
Upwards of one-fifth of global trade passes through the area each year, according to a 2017 study published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.
China's territorial claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan. In 2016, an international arbitral court invalidated China's "dashed line," including the claim on Scarborough Shoal.
Adding to escalating tensions in the waterway, Chinese forces clashed with a Philippine government resupply mission to an outlying military base at contested Second Thomas Shoal, another hotspot. Several Philippine troops were reportedly injured.
China has accused the Philippines of trying to smuggle in construction supplies to reinforce the "illegal" warship-turned-outpost Manila grounded there to stake its claim.
The Philippines shares a Mutual Defense Treaty with Washington that U.S. President Joe Biden and other officials have called "ironclad." Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has vowed not to yield "one inch" of territory and suggested the "red line" would be the death of a Philippine national resulting from a "willful" act.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Micah McCartney is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers U.S.-China relations, East Asian and Southeast Asian ... Read more
