The Philippines has again accused China of engaging in “aggressive” and “reckless” maneuvers against its vessels at two disputed shoals in the South China Sea.
In a statement yesterday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) claimed that Chinese coast guard and naval vessels fired high-pressure water cannons and blocked and sideswiped a Philippine patrol vessel in the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal yesterday. The National Maritime Council also alleged that a ship from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) “was sideswept and another was rammed by the CCG” during a resupply mission near Sabina Shoal.
In the first instance, the PCG said that three of its vessels and one from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) were on a routine patrol around 16 nautical miles (30 kilometers) south of Scarborough Shoal, when they encountered several China Coast Guard and navy vessels.
These approached and subjected them to “aggressive actions,” the PCG said. One BFAR vessel, the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, was hit by high-pressure water cannons from a CCG boat, which targeted its navigational antennas. The Chinese coast guard ship then “intentionally sideswiped” the Datu Pagbuaya on its starboard, and then “launched a second water cannon attack on the same vessel,” the PCG said.
According to the PCG, the coast guard ship BRP Teresa Magbanua “faced blocking, shadowing and dangerous maneuvers,” while BRP Cabra “was subjected to reckless maneuvers” by a CCG boat that came within 300 yards of the Philippine vessel.
Despite the encounter, the PCG renewed its “commitment to protecting the rights and safety of our fishermen within our maritime jurisdiction.” “We will continue to be vigilant in safeguarding our national interests in the West Philippine Sea,” it said.
As has become routine following these sorts of encounters, the CCG issued its own statement, claiming that four Philippine ships had attempted to enter its territorial waters around the Scarborough Shoal, a triangular barrier of reefs about 120 nautical miles (222 kilometers) west of Luzon, the northernmost Philippine island.
Philippine ships had “dangerously approached” the coast guard’s “normal law enforcement patrol vessels,” CCG spokesperson Liu Dejun said in the statement. This prompted them to “exercise control” over the Philippine vessels.
“We warn the Philippines to immediately stop infringement, provocation and propaganda, otherwise it will be responsible for all consequences,” Liu said.
Regarding the second incident at Sabina Shoal, PCG spokesperson Jay Tarriela said four PCG and BFAR vessels visited the shoal early yesterday morning after receiving a radio message from Filipino fishermen who reported they were being harassed by CCG vessels. On arrival, CCG vessels “blocked and conducted dangerous maneuvers” against the BFAR vessel BRP Datu Romapenet; they later “intentionally rammed” the vessel, damaging it “significantly.” During the encounter, another BFAR vessel, BRP Datu Bankaw, was twice “sideswiped” by the CCG.
This pair of incidents, which were duly condemned by Western governments including Japan, Canada, Australia, the United States, and the European Union, are just the latest instances of intensifying frictions between the Philippines and China in disputed parts of the South China Sea. Notably, the incident at Scarborough Shoal was the first in which Philippine vessels have been shadowed by a ship from the People’s Liberation Army Navy, the PCG said.
Both disputed shoals have recently emerged as loci of China-Philippine maritime tensions.
Scarborough Shoal has long been a subject of dispute. Despite lying within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, the feature has been under Chinese control since a protracted stand-off between the two countries in 2012. Recent tensions have focused on Chinese efforts to prevent Filipino fishermen from entering the shoal’s internal lagoon; indeed, according to the PCG, yesterday’s patrol was intended “to support Filipino fishermen actively engaged in fishing in the area.”
Last month, the Chinese government publicized the baselines of its territorial sea adjacent to Scarborough Shoal, which it then submitted to the United Nations earlier this week.
Sabina Shoal is a submerged reef that lies around 140 kilometers northwest of the Philippine island of Palawan. It has emerged as a focus of China-Philippines tensions since July, when Manila and Beijing reached a provisional “understanding” that ended a series of confrontations over Second Thomas Shoal, some 60 kilometers to the west.
These confrontations, and the concurrent Chinese attempts to bolster its legal claims over Scarborough Shoal, suggest that despite taking steps to reduce the tensions around Second Thomas Shoal, Beijing has no intention of easing off its pressure campaign in the South China Sea.