MANILA: Chinese coastguard ships on Sunday fired water cannon and rammed Philippine ships bringing supplies to soldiers stationed in a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
One of the Philippine ships suffered “severe” engine damage, while another ship’s mast was broken after being hit by the “full strength of the water cannon of the China Coast Guard,“ the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea said in a statement.
Another ship was rammed by a Chinese coastguard ship, it added.
The Philippines boats were on the way to Second Thomas Shoal, locally called Ayungin Shoal, which lies 105 nautical miles (195 kilometres) west of the Philippines’ province of Palawan and is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
They were bringing supplies to soldiers stationed on BRP Sierra Madre, a dilapidated Philippine navy ship anchored in the shoal since it ran aground in 1999, marking the country’s claim to the area.
“We condemn, once again, China’s latest unprovoked acts of coercion and dangerous maneuvers against a legitimate and routine Philippine rotation and resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal that has put the lives of our people at risk,“ the task force said.
Chinese ships regularly shadow and try to block Philippine vessels from reaching Ayungin Shoal, but it was only the second time that the Chinese coastguard used water cannon against a Philippine resupply mission since November 2021.
China, which claims almost the entire South China Sea, has taken increasingly aggressive actions in the area in recent years. It has ignored a 2016 ruling by an international arbitration court that it has no legal or historical basis for its expansive claims.
Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims to the area, which is believed to be rich in natural resources. - Bernama, dpa
