The Philippines yesterday summoned a senior Chinese envoy to protest a water cannon incident that damaged two Philippine vessels during a patrol in the South China Sea on Tuesday.
A Philippine Coast Guard vessel and another government boat were damaged in the incident near Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島), the Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Taipei, Manila and Beijing all claim the feature.
Photo: AFP
Chinese Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Zhou Zhiyong (週志勇), the No. 2 official at the embassy, was summoned by Manila over “the harassment, ramming, swarming, shadowing and blocking, dangerous maneuvers, use of water cannons, and other aggressive actions of China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia vessels,” the ministry said in a statement.
“China’s aggressive actions, particularly its water cannon use, caused damage” to the Philippine vessels, the ministry said, adding that the Chinese boats must immediately leave the shoal and its vicinity.
The Philippines said that the pressure of the water cannons used on Tuesday was far more powerful than anything previously used, and that it tore or bent metal sections and equipment on the Philippine vessels.
Yesterday’s diplomatic protest was the 20th lodged by Manila this year and the 153rd since Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr took office in the middle of 2022, the ministry said.
The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Chinese Coast Guard had previously said that it “expelled” the two Philippine ships from its territorial waters near Scarborough Shoal.
The shoal has been a flashpoint between the two countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012.
The triangular chain of reefs and rocks that make up Scarborough Shoal lies 240km west of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon and nearly 900km from Hainan, the nearest major Chinese land mass.
Since seizing the shoal, Beijing has deployed its coast guard and other vessels that Manila says harass Philippine ships and prevent its fishers from accessing the rich lagoon.
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