China Fumes After US Ally's Ominous Warning

China has lambasted the Philippine envoy to Washington after he suggested the South China Sea, not China-claimed Taiwan, is "the real flashpoint" in Asia with potential to spark a great power war.

"It is deplorable that the said individual, in ignorance of basic facts, again used the South China Sea issue to hype up and launch a baseless accusation and malicious smear campaign against China," Chinese Embassy in Manila spokesperson Ji Lingpeng told the media Sunday.

The diplomatic tit-for-tat comes just over a week after the Philippines, a U.S. defense treaty ally, accused China of blockading a traditional fishing ground within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. The Philippine government has been ramping up its presence via coast guard and fisheries bureau patrols in what it says is a move to support local fishermen, who are frequently expelled by Chinese coast guard personnel.

China claims sovereignty over upwards of 90 percent of the South China Sea, including the 200-nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines and several other neighboring Southeast Asian nations.

"The real problem and the real flashpoint, which is why I'm telling you how critical it is for us. The real flashpoint is in the West Philippine Sea," Philippine ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez said Wednesday, according to local media reports.

He contrasted China's ambition to someday annex as a calculated decision, which he said may be delayed indefinitely through adequate deterrence, with the unpredictable confrontations between Chinese and Philippine maritime forces.

"All of these skirmishes that are happening there, there can be one major accident and either one of our countries the US or the Philippines can invoke the MDT [Mutual Defense Treaty] and when we do, a commitment made by the US or the commitment we made will happen and then all hell breaks loose," he said.

President Joe Biden last year reaffirmed an attack against the Philippines anywhere, including the South China Sea, would trigger the "ironclad" MDT.

Romualdez's Chinese counterpart hit back Sunday.

"Who are stirring up the situation in the South China Sea? Who are spreading "China threat"? Who are ganging up in small blocks?" Ji, the Chinese spokesperson said.

Ji urged Romualdez to cease his "'China threat' and 'Sinophobia remarks'" and to resist "serving as a mouthpiece for another country."

Since last year, the Philippines under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been publicizing its South China Sea run-ins with China to drum up international support, earning statements of support from Washington, a number of fellow U.S. allies, and the G7.

Beijing has accused the Southeast Asian country of bringing outside powers to what should be a bilateral issue and of being a pawn of U.S. efforts to contain China's rise.

Later on Sunday, the Philippine embassy in the U.S. countered Ji with a broadside of its own.

"Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez is not a mouthpiece for 'another country' nor is he spreading 'erroneous China threat' and 'Sinophobia' remarks," the mission's statement read.

"His statements regarding the developments in the South China Sea have been consistent with the position expressed by the Philippine government's highest officials, particularly regarding the threat posed by unlawful, aggressive, and provocative actions of the Chinese coast guard and Chinese maritime militia against Philippine vessels and personnel and Filipino fishermen," the statement said.

The embassy cited Chinese maritime forces' use of water cannons, lasers, "and other dangerous maneuvers" as examples of this alleged aggression.

Speaking before the Australian parliament last week, President Marcos vowed not to give up "even one square inch" of Philippine territory. Marcos is currently in Melbourne taking part in an Association of Southeast Asian States summit.