Signal: China flaunts naval growth in Filipino vessel altercation

On 5 August, the Philippines and the US accused the Chinese Coast Guard of illegally firing water cannons at Philippine ships on a resupply mission at a military outpost in the South China Sea.

The US State Department said China has “no lawful claim to the maritime area around Second Thomas Shoal, which is located well within the Philippines exclusive economic zone.”

Analysts have pointed out that an armed attack on Filipino vessels would invoke US defence commitments under its military alliance with Manila.

With China’s defence budget forecasted to grow from $225.5bn (current) to $318.5bn (2027) at a CAGR of 7.2%, according to Global Data’s China Defense Market 2022-2027 report, concerns around Chinese naval aggression have been expressed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. All have conflicting territorial claims in the South China Sea.