US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) and his wife Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio arrive at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on July 21, 2026, ahead of the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. —Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Pool/Agence France-Presse
MANILA, Philippines — The United States condemned “dangerous and aggressive actions” by China following a clash with the Philippine Navy at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Manila on Tuesday for a meeting of Southeast Asian nations.
“China’s troubling pattern of provocations against the Philippines’ legitimate maritime operations undermines regional peace and stability and directly contradicts China’s repeated commitments to resolve disputes peacefully,” the US Department of State said in a statement.
The US secretary of state landed in Manila on Tuesday morning for a meeting of his counterparts from the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
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‘Freedom of navigation’
While his entourage has not publicly confirmed talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, who will also be in Manila on Wednesday and Thursday, Rubio has said he is open to the possibility of a meeting.
READ: AFP: China Coast Guard assaults Philippine Navy officer in Ayungin
The two met last year on the sidelines of the Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur and again in Munich in February.
In an op-ed published in Philippine media outlets on Tuesday, Rubio heralded Washington’s commitment “to freedom of navigation in Southeast Asia” while reaffirming the US defensive umbrella in the region.
“This freedom is by no means guaranteed. If these waters were to fall under the control of a power willing to use trade as a geopolitical weapon, both the United States and the Asean states would face serious new threats to their sovereignty, security, and economic future,” he wrote, in a clear allusion to China.
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READ: China open to signing Code of Conduct in disputed waters – Tulfo
Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, a vital global trade route, despite an international ruling that its claims have no legal basis.
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Multiple Asean member states, including the Philippines, have territorial claims that overlap with China’s.
On Monday, Philippine and Chinese sailors clashed at Ayungin Shoal in what was the first serious seaborne encounter in months.
Manila said China Coast Guard (CCG) personnel had assaulted Filipino sailors near a beached vessel that serves as a garrison on the disputed shoal.
Beijing said the Philippines instigated the incident by sending men in small rubber boats to approach their vessel.
The CCG responded to the accusations in a statement, calling Manila’s version of events a “complete distortion of the truth.”
The clash casts further doubt on hopes for a long-sought Code of Conduct between Asean and China for the waterway, a quest analysts have warned is unlikely to result in a document with teeth.
Strengthening partnership
Rubio is making his first visit to the Philippines as secretary of state, where he intends to reaffirm the strengthened partnership with the United States.
The visit comes as the United States and Iran are once again embroiled in conflict, more than a week after the resumption of hostilities over another strategic waterway, the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking to the press before his departure from Washington on Sunday, he indicated that he would participate in a meeting with fellow Quad countries Australia, Japan and India on the sidelines of the Asean summit, as well as meetings with South Korea and possibly Vietnam.
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Rubio intends to raise the issue of US economic commitment to energy infrastructure, critical minerals, and artificial intelligence during these meetings, he said. /cb