The Philippine military chief yesterday demanded that China return rifles and equipment seized by the China Coast Guard in a disputed shoal and pay for damage in an assault he likened to an act of piracy in the South China Sea.
Philippine officials said that Chinese personnel on board more than eight motorboats on Monday repeatedly rammed then boarded two Philippine navy inflatable boats to prevent navy personnel from transferring food and other supplies, including firearms, to a Philippine territorial outpost in Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙).
The feature is also claimed by Taiwan and China.
Photo: Reuters
After a scuffle and repeated collisions, the Chinese personnel seized the boats and damaged them with machetes, knives and hammers, the officials said.
They also seized eight M4 rifles, which were packed in cases, navigation equipment and other supplies, and wounded navy personnel, including one who lost his right thumb, the officials said.
“We are demanding that the Chinese return our rifles and our equipment, and we’re also demanding that they pay for the damage they caused,” General Romeo Brawner Jr, head of the Philippine armed forces, told a news conference in Palawan Province, where he pinned a medal on the wounded navy officer.
“They boarded our boats illegally and seized our equipment,” Brawner said. “They’re now like pirates with this kind of actions.”
Armed with long knives and machetes, the China Coast Guard personnel tried to beat the unarmed navy personnel, who resisted with their bare hands by parrying the blows and pushing back the Chinese, Brawner said.
“Our objective is also to prevent war,” he added.
China blamed the Philippines for the confrontation, saying that the navy “trespassed” into the shoal in defiance of its warnings.
“This is the direct cause of the incident,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian (林劍) said in Beijing. “The Chinese coast guard at the scene has taken professional law-enforcement measures with restraint aimed at stopping the illegal supply mission by the Philippine vessels and no direct measures were taken against the Philippine personnel.”
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