India's close Southeast Asian partners push back against Beijing's South China Sea plans

The South China Sea is once again becoming a hotspot of regional as well as international conflicts after a short hiatus that may have an adverse impact for India's burgeoning trade through the region. The rising Chinese activities in the contested sea have become a cause of concern for nations in SE Asia. However, some of them including Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are challenging China's aggression and dominance. In a recent case of aggressiveness, a Chinese ship aimed a 'military grade' laser at a Filipino vessel, blinding its crew.

The Philippines, which is seeking to expand its security with India, called Chinese action a "dangerous manoeuvre" that was carried out to disrupt its supply mission to Second Thomas Shoal, a part of the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. At the same time, the US and Australia too are increasing their presence in the Indo-Pacific region to ward off Chinese threats. In the wake of the Filipino-US joint military drill, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said, "This country will not lose an inch of its territory". The US is holding drills in the South China Sea, where China has already built artificial islands, missile bases, and even supermarkets for defence personnel.

The South China Sea is crucial from commercial and military points of view. In such a scenario, China's imperious actions would aggravate the clashes in the South China Sea, drawing major world powers into the conflict, according to persons familiar with the South China Sea dynamics.

Beijing has accused the Filipino vessel of an "intrusion" in Chinese waters. The Philippines called the incident a "clear violation of Philippine sovereign rights" and summoned the Chinese ambassador to lodge its protest. Against the backdrop of Chinese rising hegemony, the Philippines has signed a defence deal with Japan to improve its maritime capabilities and is mulling joining the US-led 'integrated deterrence strategy' against China.