The Chinese coast guard assaulted three Philippine vessels with water cannon blasts Sunday and rammed one of them, causing serious engine damage off a disputed shoal in the South China Sea just a day after similar hostilities at another shoal, the Philippine coast guard said.
The latest confrontation happened near Second Thomas Shoal as two Philippine navy-operated supply boats and Philippine coast guard escort ships were en route to deliver food and other supplies to Filipino forces in a long-marooned navy ship that serves as a territorial outpost, said a coast guard spokesman, Commodore Jay Tarriela.
No other details were provided. Drone video footage and photographs issued by the Philippine coast guard show two Chinese coast guard ships separately blasting water cannons at close range at a Philippine coast guard patrol ship, BRP Cabra, and a smaller supply boat.
The Chinese coast guard said it had “implemented controls in accordance with laws and regulations” on Sunday against two Philippine coast guard vessels, including one official ship and one supply ship that were attempting to transport construction materials to the Second Thomas Shoal.
The statement gave no details about the measures taken, but said the Philippines action “seriously infringed on China’s sovereignty.”
It also claimed a Philippine vessel ignored warnings and in violation of international navigation regulations made a sharp turn in an “unprofessional and dangerous manner” and intentionally collided with a Chinese coast guard ship, causing “scratching.”
“The responsibility lies entirely with the Philippine side,” the coast guard said.
China’s ships, which have surrounded the Philippine-occupied Second Thomas Shoal for years, have blocked Philippine coast guard and supply boats in a years-long effort to take control of the hotly disputed atoll claimed by both nations.
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