File photo taken in July, 2016 shows Chinese H-6K bomber patrolling islands and reefs including Huangyan Island in the South China Sea. (Xinhua/Liu Rui)

A Philippine envoy recently hyped the possibility of a war in the South China Sea, a move observers said on Thursday aims to win more of the US' limited resources in a futile attempt to seize Chinese islands and reefs.

Skirmishes between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the South China Sea could spark a major conflict at "any time," Jose Manuel Romualdez, the Philippine ambassador to the US, said in an interview with Nikkei Asia published on Wednesday.

The flashpoint is the South China Sea, not the island of Taiwan, Romualdez claimed, noting that "[if] anything happens in our area, it's like the beginning of another war, world war."

The Philippines has been making provocations over Chinese islands and reefs in the South China Sea, including Ren'ai Jiao (also known as Ren'ai Reef) since August, as it repeatedly sent vessels carrying illegal building materials to reinforce its warship illegally grounded on Ren'ai Reef since 1999 and saw its attempts blocked by China Coast Guard vessels with legitimate and professional restriction measures.

By hyping the possibility of a war in the South China Sea, the Philippines wants to gain more attention from the international community, particularly Western countries, so it can rally more forces from outside the region to interfere in the South China Sea issue, a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Thursday.

This attempt is ridiculous, because the US-led West is already running out of resources in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the US is exhausting its remaining resources in containing China using the island of Taiwan as leverage, the expert said. "The Philippines should look at Ukraine, as well as the Middle East. What have they become after US intervention?" he said.

The US does value the Philippines as a strategic location along the first island chain for containing China, but if the Philippines drags the US into a war, the US will not sacrifice its own interests for the Philippines, the expert said.

It was the Philippines that made the provocations first and that has been escalating the situation, while China, which is much more powerful in all aspects, took restrained restriction measures to avoid escalation, so it is the Philippines hyping of the war that the international community should be concerned about, analysts said.

Observers also said that the Philippines should learn from other ASEAN members which stressed the need to better manage and actively resolve maritime disputes, so as to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea and the region at large.