Philippines accuses China of aggressive tactics in South China Sea
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An aerial photo from March 2024 showing Philippine scientists inspecting Sandy Cay reef, near Thitu Island, in the Spratly archipelago.
PHOTO: AFP
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MANILA – The Philippines’ fisheries bureau said the lives of a civilian crew were put at risk when the Chinese Coast Guard fired water cannon and sideswiped one of its vessels while it conducted marine research around a disputed South China Sea reef.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources condemned what it said was “aggressive interference” of the Chinese Coast Guard against the Datu Sanday and a second ship in the May 21 incident, saying its vessels had not previously been subjected to water cannon in the area.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the May 22 statement by the bureau.
Sandy Cay is close to Thitu Island, the largest and most strategically important of the nine features that the Philippines occupies in the Spratly archipelago, where China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have a presence.
In April, China said its coast guard had landed on Sandy Cay as part of operations to exercise its sovereignty. The Philippines has denied that Beijing has seized control of the disputed reef.
China claims sovereignty over nearly all the South China Sea, including areas claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal found that Beijing’s sweeping claims had no basis under international law, a decision that China rejects. REUTERS
