South China Sea: Philippines condemns Chinese coastguard’s ‘dangerous’ use of water cannons at its boats
- The incident happened as the Philippine coastguard escorted vessels carrying supplies for Filipino troops stationed at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands
- Both Manila and the US denounced the actions, while Beijing accused the ships of trespassing and transporting illegal building materials
- The latest incident happened on Saturday as the Philippine coastguard escorted vessels carrying supplies for Filipino military personnel stationed at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.
Beijing claims almost all of the sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, and has ignored a 2016 international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
Its coastguard and navy vessels routinely block or shadow Philippine ships patrolling the contested waters, Manila says.
Saturday’s incident was the first time since November 2021 that the Chinese coastguard had used water cannon against a Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal.
“The Philippine coastguard strongly condemns the China coastguard’s dangerous manoeuvres and illegal use of water cannons against the PCG vessels,” the Philippine coastguard said in a statement.
“Such actions by the CCG not only disregarded the safety of the PCG crew and the supply boats but also violated international law.”
The Armed Forces of the Philippines said the Chinese coastguard had “blocked and water cannoned” one of its chartered resupply vessels.
Due to the “excessive and offensive” actions, a second chartered vessel was unable to unload its cargo for the routine troop rotation and resupply operation, military spokesman Colonel Medel Aguilar said in a statement.
“We call on the China coastguard and the Central Military Commission to act with prudence and be responsible in their actions to prevent miscalculations and accidents that will endanger peoples’ lives,” Aguilar said.
- China’s coastguard countered that it had implemented necessary controls in accordance with the law to deter Philippine ships, which it accused of trespassing and carrying illegal building materials.
Coastguard spokesman Gan Yu added China has “indisputable” sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and their adjacent waters, including the Second Thomas Shoal.
“We urge the Philippine side to immediately stop its infringing activities in this waters,” Gan posted on the coastguard’s WeChat social media account.
Manila and Beijing have a long history of maritime disputes over the South China Sea, particularly in the waters around Second Thomas Shoal.
After China occupied Mischief Reef in the mid-1990s, the Philippines ran a derelict navy vessel aground on the nearby shoal to assert Manila’s territorial claims in the waters.
Members of the Philippine marines are based there.
A similar incident happened in June during another regular resupply operation.
As they neared the shoal, the two Philippine coastguard boats assigned as escorts for that navy mission were approached by two Chinese coastguard vessels.
One of the Chinese boats came within about 90m (100 yards) of the BRP Malabrigo’s bow, forcing its commanding officer to slow down to avoid a collision, the coastguard said previously.
Another incident happened in April when a Chinese coastguard ship cut off the Philippine patrol vessel Malapascua as it carried journalists near Second Thomas Shoal.
An AFP team was on another coastguard vessel and witnessed the near-collision.
In that incident, the Malapascua’s commanding officer Rodel Hernandez said the Chinese ship came within 45m of his boat and only his quick actions avoided the steel-hulled vessels crashing into each other.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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