Philippines again accuses China of using water cannon
The Philippine coast guard accused its Chinese counterpart of firing water cannon at government ships near a disputed shoal for a second day in the third clash between the two countries in a week in the South China Sea.
It was stated that a Chinese ship in Scarborough Shoal, in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), came within about seven meters of a Philippine fishing boat on Friday, posing a “serious risk of collision”.
“PCG strongly condemns the dangerous and unprofessional actions of the Chinese coast guard,” spokesman Jay Tarriela said in a statement. he said.
He said the shoal was a traditional Filipino fishing area and “its rights cannot be legally impeded by any foreign power.”
Earlier Friday, the Chinese coast guard said it had imposed “control measures” on several Philippine ships it said were operating illegally in the waters around Scarborough Shoal.
In a more detailed statement, the Chinese coast guard accused the Philippines of organizing a large number of government and coast guard vessels, as well as a large number of fishing vessels, to “illegally congregate” in the waters.
He said that he took legal measures to warn, prevent and distribute pressurized water when official ships coming from the Philippines ignored these measures of the coast guard and “insisted on trespassing”.
A similar incident occurred on Thursday.
On Friday, China’s foreign ministry said the coast guard’s actions were “reasonable, legal and blameless.”
“The Philippine side must immediately stop the violation, provocation and exaggeration,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at the regular briefing.
China has long occupied the shallow coast, which is part of an armada of coast guard ships deployed along the South China Sea.
Beijing claims sovereignty over nearly the entire waterway, including parts of the EEZs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The incident came after Southeast Asian foreign ministers wrapped up regional meetings in Manila, attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who called Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea “disturbing” and reaffirmed support for defense pact ally the Philippines.
The two incidents at Scarborough Shoal, the most disputed feature in the South China Sea, followed Monday’s clash at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, 650km away. Here in Manila, a Filipino sailor was injured after being hit with a baton by Chinese coast guard personnel, he said.
China accused the Philippine navy of ignoring warnings and trying to ram a Chinese patrol boat, and the countries summoned each other’s ambassadors in protest.
