Chinese coast guard vessels backed by navy vessels fired powerful water cannons and jammed and grazed a Philippine patrol vessel on Wednesday in renewed aggression on a disputed sandbar in the South China Sea, Philippine officials said.
Three Philippine Coast Guard and Fisheries Bureau ships were on routine patrol to protect Filipino fishermen in Scarborough Shoal when several Chinese Coast Guard and Navy ships approached and conducted “aggressive actions” after dawn, the Philippine coast guard said.
Chinese officials had no immediate comment. In the past, they have repeatedly cited China’s sovereignty claims in the disputed maritime region and its determination to defend what they say is its territory despite a 2016 international arbitration decision that invalidated Beijing’s historic claims.
USA condemned he “illegal use of water cannons and dangerous maneuvers” by China. US Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson said on social media platform X that the Chinese maneuvers disrupted a Philippine maritime operation and “put lives at risk.”
“We condemn these actions and stand with our friends, partners and allies who share our ideas in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Carlson said.
China’s reported actions in the disputed waters came after a respite of more than a month as two consecutive major storms prevented many Philippine fishing and commercial vessels from venturing into dangerously rough seas.
Despite the “reckless” maneuvers of the Chinese ships, the Philippine coast guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said that They renewed their “commitment to protect the rights and safety of our fishermen within our maritime jurisdiction”.
“We will continue to be vigilant to safeguard our national interests in the West Philippine Sea,” the two Philippine law enforcement agencies said, using the Philippine name for the seas off the archipelago’s western coast.
The Chinese maritime maneuvers “are not standard law enforcement actions,” said Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela, adding that they “should be interpreted as unlawful aggression by violators of international law.”
China’s extensive claims span virtually the entire waterway and overlap with the territorial waters, exclusive economic zones and high seas claims of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. Indonesia has also had clashes with the Chinese coast guard, which supports Beijing’s fishing fleets.
On Wednesday, one of the Philippine ships, The BRP Datu Pagbuaya was hit by high-pressure water fired from a Chinese coast guard ship with bow number 3302 that pointed its navigation antennas about 16 nautical miles (30 kilometers) south of Scarborough, the Manila coast guard said.
Shortly after, the Chinese coast guard ship “intentionally breached the BRP Datu Pagbuaya on its starboard side” and then “launched a second water cannon attack against the same vessel”he indicated.
The Philippine coast guard vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua “faced blocking, tracking and dangerous maneuvers” by two Chinese navy and coast guard vessels, it said. Another Philippine coast guard vessel, the BRP Cabra, “was subjected to reckless maneuvers” by a Chinese coast guard vessel at a distance of about 300 meters (274 yards), Philippine coast guard officials said.
At a news conference Wednesday, Philippine coast guard and national security officials showed videos of the Chinese coast guard’s use of water cannons and maneuvers near Philippine ships.
Territorial disputes, which have been brewing for some time, are a delicate dividing line in the rivalry between the United States and China in the region. The United States claims nothing in those waters, which are a key global shipping route, but has declared that freedom of navigation and overflight and the peaceful resolution of conflicts are part of its fundamental national interests.
The United States has warned that it is obligated to defend the Philippines, a treaty ally, if Philippine forces are attacked in the South China Sea.
(with information from AP)
