CHINA’S coast guard on Tuesday released a video of its ship spraying a water cannon at a smaller Philippine boat, saying it had handled the incident according to law.
The Aug. 5 video showed the water barely hitting the makeshift Philippine boat that was trying to deliver food and other supplies to Filipino troops stationed at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.
The shoal, which the Philippines calls Ayungin, is a submerged reef in the South China Sea where a handful of its troops live on a rusty World War II-era US ship that Manila intentionally grounded in 1999 to assert it claim.
Second Thomas Shoal is about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the Philippine island of Palawan and more than 1,000 kilometers from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan Island.
The Chinese Coast Guard in a website posting said the Philippine boats had entered Second Thomas Shoal illegally. It maintained “rational restraint throughout the process,” it added.
China’s Foreign Ministry reiterated its call for the Philippines to remove the outpost from the shoal. China has communicated to the Philippines about the Second Thomas Shoal issue “many times” through diplomatic channels, but its goodwill and sincerity have been “ignored,” it said in a statement.
China is willing to handle maritime issues through talks and consultations, the Foreign Ministry said.
Jonathan Malaya, spokesman of the Philippines’ National Security Council, repeated comments he made on Monday, saying, “the Philippines will never abandon our post in Ayungin Shoal.”
“We urge China not to escalate matters by water cannons or military-grade lasers, which places Philippine lives at risk, but by sincere negotiations and other diplomatic means,” he added.
The Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Second Thomas Shoal is part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
“The Philippines’ resupply missions and repair of BRP Sierra Madre are part of regular operations in line with domestic and international law and ensures safety and the well-being of our stationed personnel,” Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teresita C. Daza said in a statement.
China on Monday asked the Philippines to remove its grounded warship from the shoal, accusing its neighbor of violating its sovereignty, its own commitments and international law.
The Philippines on Sunday condemned the Chinese action as “excessive and offensive.” It was done “in wanton disregard of the safety of the people on board and in violation of international law,” the Armed Forces of the Philippines said in a statement.
Tensions between the two countries have flared under Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., who is leading a pivot back to the US, which has been given access to more military bases under their Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
China claims sovereignty over more than 80% of the South China Sea based on a 1940s map. Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan Brunei and Malaysia also claim parts of the major waterway.
A United Nations (UN)-backed tribunal in the Hague favored the Philippines and voided the claim in 2016. China has ignored the ruling, which has received international support.
Mr. Marcos Jr. on Monday said the country continues to assert its sovereignty and territorial rights despite challenges. The Philippines had relayed its complaint against China, he added.
No one was injured in the sea incident, but Philippine officials on Monday said one of its two boats did not complete the resupply mission.
‘NO CHOICE’
After Saturday’s incident, the US State Department on Sunday said China’s “repeated threats to the status quo in the South China Sea (were) directly threatening regional peace and stability” and that Washington stands with its Philippine allies in the face of such “dangerous actions.”
“The United States reaffirms an armed attack on Philippine public vessels, aircraft, and armed forces — including those of its coast guard in the South China Sea — would invoke US mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 US Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty,” it said in a statement.
The German Embassy in Manila said it was concerned about the use of water cannons by Chinese Coast Guard vessels against a lawful Filipino resupply mission within the Philippine’s own exclusive economic zone.
“We urge all parties to respect the rules-based international maritime order (UNCLOS and Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea), with the 2016 arbitral award at its center,” it said in a separate statement. “In light of recent events, Germany stresses that disputes must be resolved peacefully not by force or coercion.”
The Japanese envoy in Manila called the incident “totally unacceptable,” while the Canadian mission said it “unreservedly condemns the dangerous and provocative actions” of the Chinese Coast Guard.
The Philippine Senate last week adopted a resolution urging the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to file a resolution before the UN General Assembly calling on China to stop harassing Philippine vessels and violating Philippine rights at sea.
The resolution also called on DFA to bring to international attention China’s harassment of Filipino fishermen and its refusal to follow the Hague ruling.
In his second address to Congress last month, Mr. Marcos Jr. touted his foreign policy — “a friend to all and enemy of none” — that he said has proven effective.
He said the government would continue to forge more international partnerships “that will lead to a more balanced trade strategy and a healthier economic position.”
Philippine Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teresita C. Daza on Monday said the Philippines had summoned Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian over the incident. He was also given a note verbale protesting China’s actions.
Mr. Huang told DFA China had no choice but to respond, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said in a statement on Tuesday.
“China has been waiting for feedback from the Philippine side and hopes that both sides will start talks as soon as possible so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the relevant waters,” Mr. Huang said.
DFA on Monday it had been unable to reach its counterpart for several hours during the water cannon incident. — Norman P. Aquino