Germany's foreign minister criticised the Chinese coastguard's activities in the South China Sea, including its use of lasers and water cannon, during a visit on Thursday to the Philippines, saying the actions were causing concern in Europe too.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

Tension has flared in recent months between China and the Philippines as they have traded accusations over several run-ins in the waterway, including charges that China rammed a ship last month carrying the Philippine armed forces chief of staff.

"Such risky manoeuvres violate the rights and economic development opportunities of your country and other neighbouring countries," Annalena Baerbock told a joint news conference with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo.

"For countries around the world, they call into question the freedom of the sea routes guaranteed under international law in an area through which a third of global maritime trade flows," she said.

China claims sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea, pointing to a line on its maps that cuts into the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague said China's claims had no legal basis. China has rejected that ruling.

"The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea speaks clearly to China's claims to extensive maritime areas in the South China Sea," said Baerbock, who also met with the Philippine president and separately with the chief of the Philippine Coast Guard onboard a ship.

Baerbock was in Manila for a two-day official visit, the first by a German foreign minister to the Philippines in more than a decade, as the two nations mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Germany ready to help de-escalate tensions in disputed South China Sea, its foreign minister says

Germany’s top diplomat said Thursday that China’s actions in the South China Sea violate the rights of Asian coastal states like the Philippines and threaten freedom of navigation, but added that territorial disputes have to be resolved peacefully because “the world doesn’t need another crisis."

Annalena Baerbock, who held talks with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other top officials while visiting Manila, said Germany was ready to help de-escalate growing tensions and added that it was crucial to set up “mechanisms” to resolve the disputes peacefully and foster dialogue.

"There are truly rough winds blowing across the South China Sea and this is happening in the middle of one of the most dynamic economic regions of the world,” she told a news conference in Manila, speaking through an interpreter.

“It is now important to set up mechanisms to solve tensions together in a peaceful way,” she said without elaborating. “I think we all agree that the world doesn’t need another crisis. There are too many crises at once.”

In a symbolic gesture of Germany’s support for the Philippines, Baerbock visited the coast guard headquarters in Manila and boarded a patrol ship, where she briefly flew one of a number of surveillance drones that Germany donated to the Philippines.

Philippine coast guard officials said the drones would help the country defend its territorial interests in the South China Sea, enforce maritime laws and undertake search and rescue missions during accidents at sea.

Chinese officials did not immediately issue a reaction.

The decades-long territorial dispute escalated last year between Beijing and Manila, sparking fears it could degenerate into a major conflict that could involve the United States, a longtime treaty ally of the Philippines.

Chinese coast guard ships and accompanying vessels used military-grade laser and water cannons against Philippine coast guard and supply vessels and undertook dangerous maneuvers near disputed shoals, prompting the Philippines to file a large number of diplomatic protests against China, Philippine officials said.

The U.S. has repeatedly warned it is obligated to defend the Philippines if its forces, aircraft and ships come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea. China has warned the U.S. and its allies not to meddle with what it says is a purely Asian dispute and build up its forces in the region, warning of unspecified consequences.

China's actions in the South China Sea, which have led to minor collisions with Philippine vessels, are of concern to Germany and other European countries, Baerbock said, “because such risky maneuvers violate rights and opportunities for economic development of your own country and other littoral states.”

Baerbock held the news conference with her Philippine counterpart, Enrique Manalo.

“They also put into question the freedom of navigation and international law, affecting all countries worldwide,” she said, adding that China’s claims “are not covered by international law.”

The German foreign minister, the first to visit the Philippines in about a decade to bolster ties, cited a 2016 ruling by a United Nations-backed arbitration panel that invalidated China’s extensive territorial claims on historical grounds. China refused to participate in the arbitration, dismissed its ruling as a sham and continues to defy it.

Baerbock said the arbitration ruling was “crystal clear.”

Leaders of Philippines, Indonesia hold talks on S.China Sea, ASEAN bloc

The leaders of the Philippines and Indonesia met in Manila on Wednesday to discuss developments in the South China Sea and efforts to build closer ties among Southeast Asian nations, among a range of issues.

The meeting comes after Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on Tuesday her country was ready to work with other Southeast Asian nations to finalise a long-delayed code of conduct for the South China Sea.

China lays claim to almost the entire waterway, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual maritime commerce, but its claims overlap those of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, all members of the ASEAN grouping.

"President Widodo and I had a fruitful and honest discussion on regional events of mutual interest," Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who hosted his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo, told a joint press conference after the meeting.

These included issues regarding the South China Sea, as well as ways to build co-operation among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he added, without giving details.

The neighbours also signed a pact on energy ties to aid co-operation between their business sectors during periods of critical supply constraints on fuels such as coal and liquefied natural gas.

In addition, they agreed to beef up defence ties and existing pacts on border co-operation, Widodo told the conference.

"We agreed to ... expedite revision of joint border patrol and crossing agreements, (and) also to strengthen defence co-operation, including on military hardware," he added.

A 2014 pact between the archipelago nations demarcated their maritime borders in the overlapping exclusive economic zones of the Mindanao and Celebes Seas, while a 1975 border patrol agreement aims to combat crimes at sea from piracy to smuggling.

For years, ASEAN and China have been trying to set up a framework to negotiate the code of conduct, a plan dating from 2002. But progress has been slow despite commitments by all parties to advance and expedite the process.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague said China's claims had no legal basis. China has rejected that ruling.

Tension has flared in recent months between China and the Philippines as they have traded accusations over several run-ins in the waterway.

Germany's Baerbock: S China Sea tensions and potential crisis vex EU

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Thursday the European Union was concerned about rising tensions in the South China Sea, stressing the need to avoid another crisis in the world.

Baerbock, the first German foreign minister to visit the Philippines in a decade, said preventing a crisis in the region was a priority for the EU.

“I have just come from the Middle East, where the situation continues to be extremely dangerous, and the risk that one more spark could set the whole region ablaze still exists,” she said in a press conference after meeting her counterpart, Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo.

“I am saying this because in your region, tensions are rising too,” she added. “The wind is literally sweeping more roughly across the South China Sea, and that in the middle of one of the world's most dynamic economic regions.”

Baerbock said the recent incidents in the South China Sea where the Chinese coastguard used lasers and water cannon on Philippine resupply vessels “are also a concern for us in Europe, even though we are thousands of kilometres away.”

“I think we all agree that the world doesn’t need another crisis,” she said. “There are too many crises at once. We all hope that after Covid, we will work closely together ... Unfortunately, the last year ended differently.”

“In addition to the Russian war on Ukraine, we now have the war in the Middle East. So therefore for us, crisis prevention everywhere in the world, but especially here in the region is one of our top priorities,” she added.

In stressing the need to boost bilateral and regional cooperation in keeping peace and order in the South China Sea, Baerbock said, “Making clear that the compliance with international law is the best guarantee for every state in the world to be protected.”

International law “is the best insurance for smaller countries,” she added.

Manalo thanked Baerbock “for Germany’s unflinching support for international law” including two pillars of the Philippines’ position on the South China Sea dispute: the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling against China’s wide claims over the area.

“Germany is a valuable partner with the Philippines not only in bilateral terms, but also in regional and international,” he said.

“I think we really do a great job in convincing the rest of the world on the importance that we should attach to international law because that is the way we should proceed, and in fact, the only way to proceed if we are to resolve any disputes or tensions in a peaceful and democratic manner,” he added.

China's Foreign Ministry said countries outside the region had no right to interfere in the affairs of China and relevant states in the South China Sea.

China is prepared to resolve disagreements through dialogue, spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Thursday. However, Beijing would defend its territorial sovereignty, she added.

After her meeting with Manalo, Baerbock also met Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who announced that he plans to visit Germany in March.

She then visited the Philippine coastguard, where she was expected to reiterate Germany’s commitment to providing additional training and support for maritime security.

China, which claims almost the entire South China Sea, has taken increasingly aggressive actions in the area in recent years. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims to the 3.5-million-square-kilometre sea area, which is believed to be rich in natural resources.

In December, Manila accused the Chinese coastguard of firing water cannon at two Philippine supply ships and ramming them. Beijing rejected the accusations.

The area of widely scattered reefs and islands to the west of the Philippines and far south of China has been the subject of dispute between the two countries for decades.

China has ignored a 2016 ruling by an international arbitration court that it has no legal or historical basis for its expansive claims.

In addition to geopolitical issues, the dispute is about fishing grounds, raw materials such as oil and natural gas, and the safety of sea routes.

Baerbock and Manalo also vowed to boost cooperation on skilled labour, climate change and defence. Baerbock was also scheduled to visit a technical centre where mechatronic engineers are trained.

Germany already has a bilateral deal in which some 2,500 nurses have been recruited from the Philippines since 2013.