THE Philippines accused the China Coast Guard (CCG) on Friday of blasting a Filipino government vessel with a water cannon near Bajo de Masinloc, the third confrontation between the two sides this week.
The incident, which took place during an attempt to resupply Filipino fishermen, came as top diplomats wrapped up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) annual meetings in Manila.
Beijing claims most of the South China Sea, including Bajo de Masinloc.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said the Chinese vessel conducted a “reckless” maneuver, coming within 7 meters of the BRP Datu Paduhinog and hitting the ship with a water cannon blast.
The Datu Paduhinog temporarily lost satellite connectivity, the PCG said.
Two other ships, the BRP Datu Cabaylo and the BRP Cape San Agustin, were also targeted with water cannons but not hit.
The China Coast Guard said earlier Friday that they “lawfully imposed control measures on multiple Philippine vessels engaged in illegal activities in the waters under China’s jurisdiction” near Huangyan Island, the Chinese name for Bajo de Masinloc.
The week opened with a clash at the disputed Ayungin Shoal that saw the Philippine government accuse Chinese sailors of clubbing a Filipino sailor over the head with a baton, necessitating a medical evacuation.
The incident, which Beijing said was instigated by Philippine personnel, sparked a round of condemnation from Manila’s allies.
China claims virtually the entire sea passage, a key global trade route, despite a 2016 arbitration ruling based on the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea that invalidated Beijing’s expansive claims.
The PCG strongly condemned “the dangerous and unprofessional actions of the China Coast Guard,” saying the shoal “is an integral part of the Philippine territory and its surrounding waters form part of the country’s territorial sea and exclusive economic zone.”
The decadeslong territorial standoffs were high in the agenda of the Asean foreign ministers, and their Asian and Western counterparts in three days of closed-door talks that started on Tuesday in Manila.
The ministers discussed the South China Sea disputes on Tuesday and issued a joint communique in which they said that “concerns were expressed by some ministers on the land reclamations, activities [and] serious incidents in the area, including actions that put the safety of all persons at risk and damage to the marine environment.”
The 11-nation regional bloc’s top diplomats welcomed “significant progress” in negotiations between China and the Asean on a proposed nonaggression pact, called the code of conduct, which aims to prevent a major armed confrontation in the disputed waters. They said they aim to conclude the negotiations this year.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, met in Manila on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Asean talks and discussed the latest incident in the West Philippine Sea.
Rubio called the incident “escalatory” and said the disputes “need to be managed very carefully, because obviously, a conflict — be it economic or otherwise — between the US and China would have a dramatic global impact.”
RAdm. Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, provided details of the Bajo de Masinloc incident.
Tarriela said the PCG and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessels were delivering fuel supplies and provisions to Filipino fishing boats when the CCG 3107 fired its water cannon at the Cape San Agustin.
He said the CCG vessel had “deliberately switched off its Automatic Identification System (AIS), concealing its identity in violation of international regulations on safety of navigation.”
The Chinese vessel “scored a direct water cannon hit on BRP Datu Paduhinog, followed by two more direct water cannon attacks,” Tarriela said.
Another CCG vessel, 3303, fired its water cannon at the Datu Cabaylo.
Earlier, the Chinese Maritime Militia vessel 00318 was monitored pulling a rope “approximately 100 meters dead astern of BRP Datu Sumakwel, an act that posed a hazard to the vessel’s safe navigation,” Tarriela said.
Despite these “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions,” the Philippine vessels continued their supply mission to Filipino fishers.
On Friday, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea condemned what it described as the “unlawful and dangerous actions” of the CCG against Philippine vessels near Bajo de Masinloc.
The task force said no amount of coercion at sea could overturn the ruling or create rights not recognized under international law.
It called on the China Coast Guard to stop its dangerous and illegal actions, comply with China’s obligations under Unclos and respect the 2016 arbitral award.
Also on Friday, a nationalist group urged Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to return to Beijing with a clear message from the Filipino people: apologize for what it described as a racist artificial intelligence (AI)-generated video, end China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea and respect the Philippines’ sovereign rights under international law.
Members of the Filipinos Do Not Yield (FDNY) Movement–Alab ng Bayan, joined by other patriotic organizations, staged a lightning rally outside Star City in Pasay City near the venue of the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, where Wang was participating.
FDNY convenor and spokesman Giselle Albano said the group was also demanding that China immediately remove an AI-generated video released by China Daily, which contains racist portrayals of Filipinos and issue a public apology.
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