Rubio says China escalates action on Ayungin Shoal

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused China of “escalatory” actions after its Coast Guard personnel provoked the Philippine Navy on a contested shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Manila last Wednesday, July 22, for the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference. Official handout.

Manuel Mogato | July 23, 2026

MANILA — United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused China of “escalatory” actions after its Coast Guard personnel provoked the Philippine Navy on a contested shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

“We’ve all seen it,” Rubio said. “It’s sort of an escalatory thing that we think is very negative and benefits no one.”

Speaking to journalists at the sidelines of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Manila, Rubio also reminded China the US has a treaty arrangement with the Philippines. (Also read: US claims Iran “not serious” with peace talks)

“We intend to live up to our treaty obligations,” Rubio said.

On July 20, Chinese Coast Guard personnel approached a rusting Philippine Navy vessel in Ayungin Shoal and took photos and videos.

The Philippines responded, launching two rubber boats to drive away the Chinese Coast Guard rigid-hulled rubber boat.

The Chinese personnel attacked the Philippine Navy personnel, striking two soldiers with a wooden baton on the head.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said, in a separate interview, the Chinese actions were deliberate and were directly related to its recent claims on Batanes and AI-generated criticisms depicting Filipinos as “monkeys” being manipulated by Japan and the United States.

The ambassadors from the Philippines and China were summoned as diplomatic protests were filed after the Ayungin incident, a second violent incident after June 2024.

The Philippines and China are locked in conflicting claims on a strategic waterway where $3 trillion in trade passes annually.

Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam also have claims on the South China Sea, believed to have rich deposits of minerals and energy resources.

A US State Department spokesman, on the other hand, condemned “China’s dangerous and aggressive actions against Philippine navy personnel at Second Thomas Shoal.”

Thomas Pigott also called on China to immediately cease its destabilizing conduct.

“China’s troubling pattern of provocation against lawful Philippine maritime operations undermines regional peace and stability and directly contradicts China’s repeated commitments to resolve disputes peacefully,” Pigott said in a statement.

“We stand with our Ally, the Philippines, and commend the professionalism and restraint shown by Philippine Navy personnel in this incident.”

We reaffirm the July 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling, which found that China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea have no basis in international law. That decision is final and legally binding on both China and the Philippines,” he added.