Washington on Monday condemned what it called “dangerous and aggressive” action by China, whose personnel are accused of injuring a Filipino sailor at a shoal in the disputed South China Sea.

“The United States condemns China’s dangerous and aggressive actions against Philippine navy personnel at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on July 20, 2026, and calls on China to immediately cease its destabilizing conduct,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

“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,” he added.

US Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton also issued a statement Tuesday condemning China’s “escalatory actions.”

“China’s actions in the South China Sea threaten regional stability and stand in sharp contrast to Philippine forces’ professionalism and discipline. We join the Philippines’ call for China’s Navy, Coast Guard, and maritime militia to stop their illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions in the South China Sea,” he said.

The statement came as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed Tuesday in Manila to attend foreign ministers’ talks with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Later, Beijing summoned the ambassador of the Philippines to China over a clash at a disputed shoal the previous day, the latest development in an incident that has spiked tensions between the nations.

The statement by the Foreign Ministry said Manila’s ambassador had been “urgently” called in “to lodge solemn representations over the Philippines’ deliberate provocation and attack on Chinese Coast Guard law enforcement personnel at Ren’ai Reef”, referring to a flashpoint location also known as the Second Thomas Shoal.

Before departing Washington on Monday, Rubio said he was open to the possibility of a sideline meeting with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi, who will also be in Manila. Rubio met Wang on the sidelines of the ASEAN gathering in Kuala Lumpur last year. The two also spoke by telephone following Trump’s visit to China in the spring.

In an op-ed published Tuesday morning in the Philippines, Rubio touted Washington’s commitment “to freedom of navigation in Southeast Asia” and the regional defensive umbrella it has provided.

“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.

The Philippine military has accused the China Coast Guard of clubbing a Filipino sailor with a baton as they approached a grounded vessel that has long served as a Philippine garrison in the disputed waters.

The China Coast Guard said in a statement that it issued “verbal warnings” and “reciprocal countermeasures” against Philippine “personnel”, rejecting an earlier account of the incident by Manila as a “complete reversal of the truth”.

The Philippines trip, Rubio’s first to the country as secretary of state, comes as regional allies are under economic strain caused by the rekindled US-Iran war.

The US diplomat on Sunday called ASEAN “our primary way of engaging the region”, adding he would participate in a host of bilateral meetings, as well as sit-downs with fellow Quad members India, Japan and Australia. (AFP)