MANILA.- Chinese coast guard ships They fired water cannons on Tuesday two Philippine patrol boats near a disputed sandbar in the South China Sea, slightly damaging a vessel, in the latest episode of the tense territorial conflict.
There were no reports of injuries in the incident near the Scarborough Sandbank, one of two intensely disputed areas where clashes between China and the Philippines have occurred intermittently since last year.
A Philippine coast guard boat and a fishing boat were patrolling the waters near Scarborough when four Chinese coast guard ships, backed by six apparent military vessels, executed dangerous blockade maneuvers, Philippine coast guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said.
A Chinese ship used a water cannon against the Philippine fishing vessel BRP Bankaw, and two other Chinese vessels simultaneously hit the Philippine coast guard vessel BRP Bagacay from both sides, damaging part of the deck and a shed, it said. Tarriela.
Chinese authorities have not commented on the matter. They have repeatedly insisted that China has sovereignty over virtually the entire South China Sea, a crucial route for global trade, and have warned that they will defend the territory at all costs.
The Philippine ships persisted in their patrol despite the action of the Chinese ships, Tarriela said.
“They did not give up and will persist in carrying out their legitimate operations in support of Filipino fishermen to protect them,” Tarriela said in a statement. He added that Philippine ships were deployed to send food and fuel to Filipino fishermen on the high seas.
The Chinese coast guard has also reinstalled a floating barrier at the entrance to the sandbar’s fishing lagoon, he added. The Philippine coast guard in the past removed a similar barrier to allow Filipinos to fish in the lagoon.
In addition to the Philippines and China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have also been involved in territorial disputes.
The frequency of clashes between the Philippines and China, in which Philippine naval personnel have been injured and some ships damaged, has raised fears of an armed confrontation that would put China and the United States on a collision course.
The United States does not claim any part of the South China Sea for itself, but has warned that it is bound by treaty to defend the Philippines if Philippine forces, ships or aircraft are attacked, even in disputed waters.
Source: With information from AP
