South China Sea: new skirmish between Chinese coast guard and a Philippine ship

The Philippines said on Wednesday that the Chinese coast guard used water cannons and “struck” one of its ships in the South China Sea, with Beijing saying it was simply “exercising control”.

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A video released by the Manila National Task Force for the South China Sea shows a Beijing coast guard vessel colliding with a boat of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, an agency of the Philippine government.

The Chinese vessel “used a water cannon on the BRP Datu Pagbuya (the name of the vessel), aimed directly at its navigation antennas,” Philippine Coast Guard South China Sea spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a statement.

The coast guard then “intentionally hit” the Philippine vessel, before unleashing a second salvo of water cannons, Tarriela added.

Beijing reacted to these accusations, saying that the Chinese ships had only “exercised control (…) in accordance with the law”.

“On December 4,” several Philippine vessels, including coast guard vessels, “attempted to enter Chinese territorial waters around Huangyan Island,” said Liu Dejun, a coast guard spokesperson. Chinese, using the Chinese name for Scarborough Reef.

The Philippine ships then came “dangerously close to regular Chinese coast guard patrols,” he continued.

The Philippine vessel “turned at a wide angle and reversed, deliberately colliding” with a Chinese vessel, according to a coast guard statement, adding that Manila had “subsequently deliberately distorted the truth and made accusations bogus” with the aim of “deceiving” the international understanding of the facts.

The Chinese army had already announced last Thursday the sending of a “patrol” near the Scarborough Reef in order to “firmly defend” its sovereignty, against a backdrop of recurring bilateral tensions.

Located in an area rich in fisheries resources, the reef is claimed by China, which took control of it in 2012, and the Philippines.

For historical reasons, China claims almost all of the islets in the South China Sea against other neighboring countries (the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia). An arbitration court ruled in 2016 that his claims had no legal basis.