Philippines says top military official was aboard ship Chinese vessels rammed, hit with water cannon

MANILA - The Philippines on Dec 11 called the actions of Chinese vessels against its boats carrying out South China Sea resupply missions over the weekend – including one with a senior Philippine military official on board – a “serious escalation”.

Manila accused the Chinese coast guard and maritime militia of repeatedly firing water cannon at its resupply boats, causing “serious engine damage” to one, and “deliberately” ramming another.

Philippine Armed Forces Chief of Staff Romeo Brawner said he was on board a vessel that was sprayed with a water cannon and rammed.

“This is a serious escalation on the part of the agents of the People’s Republic of China,” Mr Jonathan Malaya, spokesman for the National Security Council of the Philippines, said at a news conference, where officials showed images and videos of the water cannon and ramming.

Mr Brawner told Philippine radio station DZBB that he was unhurt and that he does not believe China knew he was on board the boat.

The Philippines has filed diplomatic protests and summoned China’s ambassador over Beijing’s “aggressive” actions in the South China Sea, which a Foreign Ministry official said were a “threat to peace, good order and security”.

China’s Foreign Ministry said on Dec 11 it has lodged solemn representations and a strong protest with the Philippine side over what it said was a collision on Dec 10.

The Philippine vessels “ignored Chinese coast guard’s warnings and insisted on rushing into” waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a news briefing, adding that China’s operation was “professional, reasonable and legal”.

The Philippines’ ships were attempting to resupply military personnel stationed on a warship run aground years ago for use as a base.

Ms Mao said the responsibility for the “current repeated emergencies” at the disputed shoal lies with the Philippine side, which “refused to tow away the illegally beached warships and attempted to reinforce them to achieve permanent occupation”. China urges the Philippines to stop its “maritime violations and provocations” and “groundless attacks and smears” against China, she said.

Mr Jay Batongbacal, a Manila-based expert on maritime law, said the latest incidents are “clearly another incremental escalation”.

“The use of water cannon this time is not mere dousing but had forceful impact, deliberately causing damage to vessels. And harassment of the civilian convoy is another step up in their threats.”

It was not the first time China used water cannon against Philippine vessels undertaking resupply missions for troops on features that Manila occupies in the South China Sea; in August, the Philippines delayed a resupply mission by two weeks after its boats were sprayed.

The

maritime confrontation between the Philippines and China

during the weekend comes less than a month after leaders of both nations met on the sidelines of an economic summit in San Francisco in November to formulate ways forward in the South China Sea.

“There is a dissonance between what is being said and promised, with what’s happening in the waters,” Philippine Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Teresita Daza said in the briefing on Dec 11.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has increasingly complained about China’s “aggressive” behaviour, and sought closer ties with its treaty ally, the United States.

China claims sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea, pointing to a line on its maps that cuts into the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

Taiwan, which China also claims as part of its territory, has said it does not accept Beijing’s maps.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said the line on China’s maps has no legal basis, a ruling the US supports but Beijing rejects.

The US has called out China for interfering in the Philippines’ maritime operations and undermining regional stability, and urged Beijing to stop “its dangerous and destabilising conduct” in the strategic waters.

It reaffirmed its commitment to the mutual defence pact between the US and the Philippines, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a Dec 10 statement.

Asked about Washington’s comments, Ms Mao said the maritime disputes between China and the Philippines were an issue between the two countries and that “no third party has the right to intervene”.

Mr Malaya said China’s claims that the US is fuelling the Philippines’ audacity for provocation have no basis, and reiterated that the US was not involved in resupply missions. REUTERS