“Beijing has significantly escalated its aggressive activities in the South China Sea, including its efforts to unlawfully assert control over much of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. (China’s) coast guard and maritime militia regularly attack or physically coerce Philippine vessels,” the letter said. Funding ‘imperative’China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and says it is lawfully preventing encroachment on its territory. China’s coast guard last week used water cannon on Philippine boats it said had “illegally invaded China’s territorial waters”, actions Manila called “provocative and dangerous”. The Philippines in 2023 successfully lobbied for more specificity in the treaty to include U.S. defence from attacks “anywhere in the South China Sea” including on coast guard vessels.