China Coast Guard uses water cannons against Philippine boats | News, Sports, Work

MANILA, Philippines (AP) – Chinese Coast Guard ships blocked and sprayed a powerful stream of water on two Philippine ships carrying supplies for troops in a controversial corner of the South China Sea, prompting Manila to order Beijing ships to withdraw and warn that its supply ships are covered by a reciprocal defense treaty with the United States, Manila’s chief diplomat said on Thursday.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said no one was injured in the incident Tuesday, but the two supply ships had to interrupt their mission to provide food for the Philippine forces occupying Second Thomas Shoal, which lies in the western province of Palawan in the Philippines internationally. Exclusive known economic area.

Locsin said in a Twitter post that the actions of the three Chinese Coast Guard ships were illegal and urged them “To care and to attract.”

It was the latest outburst in the long-running territorial dispute over the strategic waterway, where China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims. China claims almost the entire South China Sea and has transformed seven batches into missile-protected island bases to cement its claims, raising tensions and alerting rival contenders and US-led Western governments.

The Philippine government forwarded to China “Our outrage, condemnation and protest over the incident.” said Locsin, adding that “This failure to exercise restraint threatens the special relationship between the Philippines and China” that President Rodrigo Duterte and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, worked to feed.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China Coast Guard had upheld China’s sovereignty after Filipino ships entered Chinese waters overnight without permission.

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon told reporters in Manila that two Chinese Coast Guard ships blocked two hulls supplying hulls. A third Coast Guard ship “The water attacked them both for an hour,” he said, adding that the pillar of one of the Filipino ships was moved by the collision.

A water cannon is a device in fire trucks that hunts water at high speeds for firefighting and crowd control, but has also been installed on Chinese Coast Guard vessels to ward off what China considers intruders in the waters it claims.

The Philippines plans to deploy Coast Guard and Bureau of Fisheries vessels in place of Navy vessels to support its forces and enforce its fishing laws in the Second Thomas Shoal, which Filipinos call Ayungin and China refers to as Ren’ai reef, said Esperon.

The number of Chinese surveillance vessels has increased in recent weeks offshore and also around Thitu, a larger Philippine-occupied island in the Spratly archipelago in the most disputed area of ​​the South China Sea, he said.

Filipino forces will not be deterred from traveling back to shore after the incident, he said.

“We will continue the supply and we do not have to ask for anyone’s permission because it is within our territory.” said Esperon.

The Philippine Army deliberately hit a World War II-era warship, the BRP Sierra Madre, off the coast in 1999 to strengthen its claim and provide shelter for a small contingent of Filipino Marines.

The Sierra Madre is now actually a rusty ship, but the Philippine military has not dismantled it. This makes the ship an extension of the government and means that any attack on the ship is tantamount to an attack against the Philippines.

In 2014, the Philippine military invited more than a dozen journalists, including from The Associated Press, on a land supply mission in an effort to draw global attention to what Filipino officials have called China’s harassment tactics.

Two Chinese Coast Guard ships then tried to block the slow, military-hired military ship carrying journalists, with one that dangerously cut the Philippine ship’s path twice. The Chinese Coast Guard warned the Filipino ship by radio to turn back, saying it was entering Chinese territory illegally.

Chinese ships crashed into the horns in a frightening way, but the boat managed to maneuver towards the Sierra Madre through shallow waters filled with rocky coral outcrops, preventing the Chinese ship from following.

Washington has no claims on the busy waterway, but has patrolled the region with its naval ships and aircraft to secure its allies, including the Philippines, and to protect freedom of navigation and flight. China has repeatedly warned the US to stay away from controversial waters and not get involved in what it says is a regional issue.

President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, have repeatedly assured the Philippines that the U.S. will honor its obligation under the Mutual Defense Treaty if Philippine forces, ships, or aircraft are attacked in the region.