Chinese vessels’ attacks on Philippine boats conducting South China Sea resupply missions over the weekend, including one with a senior military official, were branded “serious escalation” by the Philippines on Monday.
On December 2, 2023, Chinese militia warships are seen operating at Whitsun Reef, which is located in the South China Sea. Defense of the Philippine Coast. (Source: REUTERS. FILE PHOTO)
Serious Engine Damage to Philippine Vessel as Chinese Coastguard Fires Water Canon at the
South China Sea
Manila claimed the Chinese coastguard and marine militia repeatedly fired water cannons at its resupply boats, “serious engine damage” to one and “deliberately” ramming another. Philippine Chief of Staff Romeo Brawner says he was on a water cannon-sprayed and rammed ship. It is a major escalation on the side of the People’s Republic of China’s agents, according to National Security Council spokesperson Jonathan Malaya in a news briefing exhibiting water cannon and ramming footage. Brawner told Philippine radio station DZBB that he was unharmed and did not think China knew he was on the boat. A foreign ministry official called China’s “aggressive” South China Sea actions a “threat to peace, good order and security” and the Philippines has protested and summoned its ambassador. China’s foreign ministry said Monday it has submitted grave complaints and a strong protest with the Philippines after a Sunday incident.
Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China’s action was “professional, reasonable and legal” and that Philippine warships “ignored Chinese coastguard’s warnings and insisted on rushing into” seas near the Second Thomas Shoal. Philippine ships were trying to refuel military personnel on a battleship that ran aground years earlier for base use. Mao blamed the Philippine side for the “current repeated emergencies” at the disputed shoal, which “refused to tow away the illegally beached warships and attempted to reinforce them to achieve permanent occupation”. She urged the Philippines to avoid “maritime violations and provocations” as well as “groundless attacks and smears” against China. The new occurrences were seen as “clearly another incremental escalation” by Jay Batongbacal, a maritime law expert based in Manila. Rather than simply dousing vessels, the water cannon actively harmed them. Batongbacal claimed to have begun harassing the civilian convoy and intensifying their threats.
In August, China blasted Philippine boats on a resupply run for troops on sites Manila occupies in the South China Sea, delaying it by two weeks. The weekend maritime conflict between the Philippines and China comes less than a month after officials of both nations met in San Francisco to discuss South China Sea issues. “There is a dissonance between what is being said and promised with what’s happening in the waters,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Teresita Daza said in Monday’s briefing. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has grown frustrated with China’s “aggressive” behavior and wants tighter ties with its treaty ally the US. China’s charts show a line that runs into Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia’s exclusive economic zones, claiming authority over practically the whole South China Sea. Taiwan rejects Beijing’s maps. The US supports the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration finding that China’s map line is unconstitutional, but Beijing disagrees. The US has urged China to stop “its dangerous and destabilizing conduct” in key areas after interfering in Philippine maritime operations and damaging regional stability. It reaffirmed its commitment to the Washington-Manila mutual defense accord and appealed for stability after China’s “unsafe operational behavior,” a Pentagon official said Monday. China’s Mao claimed “no third party has the right to intervene” in China-Philippines maritime conflicts. In Beijing, Neil Jerome Morales, Mikhail Flores, Liz Lee, and Ethan Wang reported; Susan Heavey reported in Washington; Kanupriya Kapoor and Gerry Doyle edited.
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