Chinese coast guard ‘shoots water cannons at Filipino boat’ near Beijing-controlled Scarborough Shoal in latest incident in South China sea
A Chinese coast guard fired water cannons at a Philippine boat near the Beijing-controlled Scarborough Shoal in the latest incident in the South China Sea.
The Philippines on Saturday accused the Chinese coast guard of using the water cannons to “obstruct” three government boats delivering supplies to Filipino fishermen near an offshore reef.
A video shared by the Philippine Coast Guard showed Chinese ships firing water cannons at Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessels.
The shoal β found about 150 miles west of the Philippine island of Luzon β is small but is seen as a strategic location for both countries, while also being a fertile fishing ground.
The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said in a statement that “Chinese coast guard ships used water cannon to obstruct and prevent government vessels” from delivering fuel and food supplies to fishing boats.
A Chinese coast guard fired water cannons at a Philippine boat near the Beijing-controlled Scarborough Shoal in the latest incident in the South China Sea.
The Philippines on Saturday accused the Chinese coast guard of using water cannons to “obstruct” three government boats delivering supplies to Filipino fishermen near an offshore reef.
The multi-agency task force said it “strongly condemns the illegal and aggressive actions of the Chinese Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia.”
But Chinese state television said the country's coast guard had used “control measures in accordance with the law” against the Philippine ships that had “entered” the waters around the shoal.
China seized control of Scarborough Shoal from the Philippines in 2012 after a tense standoff.
Since then, Beijing has deployed patrol boats that Manila says harass Philippine vessels and prevent Filipino fishermen from reaching the lagoon, where fish are more plentiful.
Scarborough Shoal is located 240 kilometers west of the Philippine main island of Luzon and almost 900 kilometers from the nearest major Chinese landmass Hainan.
Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which China helped negotiate, countries have jurisdiction over natural resources within about 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) of their coasts.
The incident sparked international criticism of China and its coast guard.
US Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson condemned China's “aggressive, illegal actions” against the Philippine ships.
A video released by the Philippine Coast Guard showed Chinese Coast Guard vessels firing water cannons at Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessels, hitting them with powerful water blasts.
The school β found 150 miles west of the Philippine island of Luzon β is small but is seen as a strategic location for both countries, while also being a fertile fishing ground.
Japanese envoy Kazuhiko Koshikawa expressed serious concern “over the dangerous actions” of the Chinese coast guard.
One boat's communications and navigation equipment suffered “significant damage,” the task force statement said.
Some Filipino crew members also experienced “severe temporary discomfort and disability” after Chinese ships used a “long-range acoustic device,” the report said.
The mission to distribute fuel and food to more than 30 fishing vessels near the shoal was “ongoing,” the task force said, accusing China's coast guard of deploying inflatable speedboats to “scare away” the fishermen '.
βPreventing the distribution of humanitarian aid is not only illegal, but also inhumane,β the task force said.
Aerial surveillance by the BFAR also showed that a floating barrier had been reinstalled over the entrance to the shoal and was being guarded by Chinese boats, the Philippine Coast Guard said.
Philippine fishermen reported that the Chinese coast guard installed the barrier early Saturday, the task force said.
This comes after Philippine Coast Guard personnel cut a 300-meter barrier installed by China in the same area in September, setting it adrift and sparking 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 in trade pass annually.
That's despite the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in 2016 that China's claims over the waters have no legal basis and that building artificial islands in disputed waters was illegal.
Beijing refused to participate in the proceedings and ignored the verdict.
Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims on the sea.