The Philippines on Saturday accused China Coast Guard ships of “dangerous” maneuvers after they repeatedly blocked a vessel delivering supplies to Filipino fishers at a reef off the Southeast Asian nation’s coast.
The incidents happened near the China-controlled Scarborough Shoal on Thursday and Friday, several days after the Philippine Coast Guard made similar accusations against Chinese boats in the same area.
Scarborough Shoal — a chain of reefs and rocks in the disputed South China Sea — has been a flashpoint between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. It is known as Huangyan Island (黃岩島) in China and Taiwan, which also lay claim to it.
Photo: AFP
Since 2012, Beijing has deployed patrol boats that Manila says harass Philippine vessels and prevent Filipino fishers from reaching a lagoon where fish are more plentiful.
In the latest incidents, a Chinese navy ship, China Coast Guard vessels and other Chinese boats shadowed a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel that was bringing food and fuel to Filipino fishers, allowing them to spend more time at sea and pursue a larger catch.
Agence France-Presse correspondents and journalists from several local outlets were on board the Philippines’ BRP Datu Tamblot for the three-day round trip.
Photo: AFP
The Datu Tamblot and the China Coast Guard vessels issued repeated radio challenges to each other, each side accusing the other of encroachment on their waters.
On four occasions, China Coast Guard vessels briefly blocked the Datu Tamblot by crossing its bow and stopping in its path as it neared the shoal.
“It’s not permitted for any vessel to cross the bow of another vessel because it is very dangerous,” Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela told a news conference in Manila on Saturday.
Tarriela, who is the coast guard’s spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, said such actions could “cause a collision.”
Despite the Chinese actions, the Datu Tamblot was able to get within a few kilometers of the shoal and deliver 21,000 liters of diesel and other provisions to 19 Philippine fishing boats, Tarriela said.
Fishers in small wooden outriggers bobbed around in the water as they waited to receive blue plastic jerry cans of diesel and food parcels from the Datu Tamblot crew.
“Every time we come here, I’m really nervous,” said Joe Saligan, 44, a third-generation fisher who has been plying the waters around Scarborough Shoal for 20 years.
“Maybe they will do what they did before, they might fire a water cannon or force us to leave,” he said. “Next time they might bring a gun. I hope that will not happen because we are not trained to fight, we’re just here for our livelihoods.”
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