Chinese coast guard attacks Philippine fishing boats with water cannons
Manila: Chinese coast guard ships used powerful water cannons and interdiction maneuvers against 20 Filipino fishing boats off a disputed coast in the South China Sea, the Philippine coast guard said Saturday, injuring three Filipinos and damaging two of their boats in a life-threatening attack.
Chinese coast guard personnel in smaller rubber boats then deliberately cut the mooring lines of several Filipino boats off Sabina Shoal on Friday afternoon, “endangering the vessels and their crews amid strong currents and high waves,” the coast guard said.
In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, personnel treat injured fishermen inside their boat in the disputed South China Sea on Saturday.Credit: Philippine Coast Guard via AP
Chinese officials did not immediately comment on the latest reported flare-up of long-unresolved territorial disputes in the South China Sea, but they vowed to defend the territory they claim at all costs.
The South China Sea, a key global trade route, is claimed almost entirely by China despite a 2016 arbitration ruling that declared Beijing’s expansive claim invalid based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. China rejected the decision as fraudulent and continues to oppose it.
Two Philippine coast guard ships were deployed to assist the Filipinos off Sabina, but faced dangerous interdiction maneuvers from the Chinese coast guard. One of the Chinese ships came within 32 meters of one of the Philippine ships during the night, Commodore Jay Tarriela, a Philippine coast guard spokesman, said in an online news briefing.
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“The Chinese coast guard is now targeting ordinary fishermen, ordinary civilians, and they are endangering the lives of Filipino fishermen,” Tarriela said.
“Despite these unprofessional and illegal interventions, the Philippine coast guard successfully reached the fishermen this morning and provided emergency medical attention to the injured along with necessary supplies,” the Philippine coast guard said in a statement on Saturday, suggesting that tensions had eased.
The Philippine coast guard called on the Chinese coast guard to “comply with internationally accepted standards of conduct by prioritizing the protection of marine life over allegations of law enforcement endangering the lives of innocent fishermen.”
