Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

West Philippine Sea

Tuesday 30 January 2024 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The UK opposes any action that raises tensions or the risk of miscalculation in the South China Sea.
  • The UK has provided 6.5 million in funding to support regional partners in addressing issues in the South China Sea.
  • The UK aims to continue supporting and working closely with the Philippines on various fronts.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Rob Roberts
Foreign Affairs
Context

The question arises from concerns about rising tensions and potential conflicts in the South China Sea, specifically regarding the Philippines.

Question

Whether he is taking diplomatic steps to help reduce the risk of conflict in the West Philippine sea. The UK opposes any action that raises tensions or the risk of miscalculation in the South China sea. The Foreign Secretary spoke to his Philippino counterpart in December, and the FCDO issued a statement on 11 December, condemning Chinese unsafe and escalatory actions against the Philippines.

Answer from Anne-Marie Trevelyan

The UK is committed to the primacy of the United Nations convention on the law of the sea, and to freedom of navigation and overflight. We oppose any action that raises tensions, or the risk of miscalculation, in the South China sea. The Foreign Secretary spoke to his Philippino counterpart in December, and the FCDO issued a statement on 11 December, condemning Chinese unsafe and escalatory actions against the Philippines.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific diplomatic steps beyond mentioning past statements and discussions.

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Q2 Rob Roberts
Foreign Affairs Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The question is prompted by numerous reports of Chinese vessels harassing and attacking Filipino fishing boats, impacting their livelihoods. The Philippines relies heavily on this industry economically.

Question

What discussions has she had with her Chinese counterpart to stop those unprovoked attacks and allow those peaceful fishermen simply to go about earning a livelihood to support their families? China's actions are a serious issue for the Philippines' economy, impacting fishing communities significantly. The UK is providing £6.5 million in funding for maritime security capacity building.

Answer from Anne-Marie Trevelyan

I was in Vietnam in October, speaking at the South China sea conference, and I set out very clearly the UK's position and raised the serious risks posed by these instances of unsafe conduct against Philippino fishing vessels. The UK has provided £6.5 million in funding to support regional partners through an enhanced programme of maritime security capacity building in south-east Asia, which includes training on the law of the sea.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific details about discussions with Chinese counterparts beyond mentioning a conference and UK's position at it.

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Q3 Jim Shannon DUP Strangford
Foreign Affairs
Context

The question arises from concerns about China's aggressive stance towards smaller countries, particularly its territorial disputes and economic leverage.

Question

When will the time come that China will understand that they cannot bully the wee person—that we will stand with that wee person against them? The Minister should recognise China's actions as bullying and harmful to smaller nations' sovereignty. The UK should support these nations firmly in their rights and freedoms, especially those under threat by China.

Answer from Anne-Marie Trevelyan

The hon. Gentleman sets out a really important position, and we want to continue to support and work closely with the Philippines. I was able to co-chair the first UK-Philippines strategic dialogue in November, where we are continuing to work with the Philippines across a number of fronts on how we can support them to ensure that they can sustain their agency and present themselves the positions, as he highlights, of wanting to be able to use their waterways freely and unencumbered.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide a timeline or specific commitment on when a stronger stance will be taken against China's bullying.

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