Chinese coast guard shoots water cannons at Filipino boat near the Scarborough Shoal in latest incident in South China sea
In the latest incident in the South China Sea, the Chinese coast guard fired water cannons at a Philippine vessel near the Beijing-controlled Scarborough Shoal.
The Philippines on Saturday accused the Chinese coast guard of using water cannons to “disturb” three government boats delivering food to Filipino fishermen near a reef off its coast.
A video released by the Philippine Coast Guard showed Chinese ships firing water cannons at Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessels.
The shoal, located 150 miles west of the Philippine island of Luzon, is small but is seen as a strategic location for both countries and is also a fertile fishing ground.
The National West Philippine Sea Task Force said in a statement that “Chinese Coast Guard ships used water cannons to obstruct and discourage” government vessels from delivering fuel and food to fishing boats.
In the latest incident in the South China Sea, the Chinese coast guard fired water cannons at a Philippine boat near the Beijing-controlled Scarborough Shoal.
The Philippines on Saturday accused the Chinese coast guard of using water cannons to “disturb” three government boats delivering food to Filipino fishermen near a reef off its coast.
The inter-agency task force said it “strongly condemns the illegal and aggressive actions carried out by the Chinese coast guard and Chinese maritime police.”
But Chinese state television said the country’s coast guard had taken “control measures in accordance with the law” against Philippine vessels that had “intruded” into the waters around the shoal.
China wrested control of Scarborough Shoal from the Philippines in 2012 after a tense standoff.
Beijing has since sent patrol boats that Manila says are harassing Philippine vessels and preventing Filipino fishermen from reaching the lagoon, where there are more fish.
Scarborough Shoal is 240 kilometers (150 miles) west of the main Philippine island of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometers from the nearest major Chinese land mass, Hainan.
Under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which China participated in negotiations, countries have jurisdiction over natural resources within about 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) of their shores.
The incident sparked international criticism of China and its coast guard.
US Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson condemned China’s “aggressive, illegal actions” against Philippine ships.
A video released by the Philippine Coast Guard showed Chinese Coast Guard ships firing water cannons at Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessels, hitting them with powerful streams of water.
The shoal, discovered 150 miles west of the Philippine island of Luzon, is small but is seen as a strategic location for both countries and is also a fertile fishing ground.
Japanese Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa expressed serious concern about the “dangerous actions” of the Chinese coast guard.
The task force said in a statement that one boat’s communications and navigation equipment suffered “significant damage.”
Some Filipino crew also experienced “severe temporary discomfort and loss of performance” after Chinese vessels used what was believed to be a “long-range acoustic device,” the report said.
The task force said a mission to distribute fuel and food to more than 30 fishing vessels near the shoal was “ongoing,” accusing the Chinese coast guard of using inflatable speedboats to “drive away” the fishermen.
“Preventing the distribution of humanitarian aid is not only illegal, but also inhumane,” the task force said.
According to the Philippine Coast Guard, aerial surveillance conducted by BFAR also showed that the floating barrier had been re-installed opposite the shallow water entrance and was guarded by Chinese boats.
Philippine fishermen reported that the Chinese coast guard installed the barrier early Saturday morning, the task force said.
It comes after members of the Philippine Coast Guard cut down a 300-metre barrier erected by the Chinese in the same area in September, setting it adrift and causing a diplomatic row.
The Philippines and China have a long history of maritime incidents in the disputed South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars of trade pass each year.
This is despite a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague that China’s claims to the waters have no legal basis and the construction of artificial islands in the disputed waters is illegal.
Beijing refused to participate in the proceedings and ignored the decision.
Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims to the sea.