China water cannon Philippines vessels for second day, Manila says
Philippine officials said Chinese ships used water cannon near Scarborough Shoal again, escalating a tense week in the South China Sea.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
The Philippines accused China of using water cannon on its vessels near Scarborough Shoal for a second straight day, keeping tensions high in one of the South China Sea’s most disputed areas. The china water cannon philippines incident matters because Manila says the ships were supporting Filipino fishermen and patrolling waters inside its exclusive economic zone.
The Philippine Coast Guard said Friday that a China Coast Guard ship came within about seven metres, or 23 feet, of a Philippine fisheries vessel near the shoal. Coast guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said the encounter created a serious collision risk and called the Chinese coast guard’s actions dangerous and unprofessional.
According to the Philippine Coast Guard, 12 China Coast Guard vessels and three Chinese maritime militia vessels were involved. It said water cannon struck two Philippine ships, while two other Philippine vessels had to make risky course changes to avoid possible collisions.
What happened near Scarborough Shoal?
Philippine officials said the vessels were delivering fuel subsidies to Filipino fishermen and carrying out routine patrols at Scarborough Shoal, which is also known locally as Bajo de Masinloc. Tarriela said the shoal is a traditional fishing ground for Filipinos and that their rights there cannot be blocked lawfully by a foreign power.
Scarborough Shoal is a reef and fishing area in the South China Sea claimed by both China and the Philippines. Manila says it lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, while Beijing asserts sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea, including areas that overlap with the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
China gave a different account of Friday’s confrontation. The China Coast Guard said it had taken “control measures” against several Philippine vessels that it accused of operating illegally around the shoal.
In a fuller statement, the China Coast Guard accused the Philippines of sending government ships, coast guard vessels and many fishing boats to gather illegally in the area. It said Chinese personnel warned and blocked the vessels and used water cannon after Philippine official ships ignored those steps and continued entering the waters.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended the coast guard’s conduct on Friday. Spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular briefing that China’s actions were reasonable, lawful and beyond reproach, and said the Philippines should stop what he called infringement, provocation and hype.
The Scarborough Shoal incident followed a similar encounter on Thursday, according to the Philippine side. It also came after a confrontation Monday at Second Thomas Shoal, about 650km, or 400 miles, away, where Manila said a Filipino sailor was injured after Chinese coast guard personnel hit him with a baton.
Beijing accused the Philippine Navy in that Monday incident of ignoring warnings and trying to ram a Chinese patrol boat. Both governments have summoned each other’s ambassadors in protest.
The latest clashes coincided with regional meetings of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Manila attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Rubio called Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea disturbing and reaffirmed US support for the Philippines, which has a defence treaty with Washington.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.