The tense confrontation on the Second Thomas shoal, also called Ayungin, was a new clash in the long-running territorial conflict between China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.
Disputes in the South China Sea, one of the busiest maritime regions, have long been seen as a flashpoint and a sensitive front in the US-China rivalry in the area.
Two contracted supply ships were carrying Philippine navy personnel towards the sandbank, escorted by Philippine coast guard ships, when another Chinese Coast Guard ship approached and used a powerful water cannon to bar the Philippine group from access to the sandbar, which is also claimed by Beijing, according to Philippine Coast Guard and military officials.
The Chinese ship’s actions amounted to a “disregard for the safety of the people on board” the ship contracted by the Philippine navy and violated international law, the Philippine Armed Forces said, without indicating whether any of its sailors had been injured.
“Excessive and offensive actions against Philippine ships” prevented one of the ships from offloading supplies needed by Philippine troops protecting the sandbar aboard a years-long stranded Philippine navy ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, according to a Philippine military statement.
China has been demanding for years that the Philippines withdraw its small contingent of troops and tow the BRP Sierra Madre, which is technically in service despite its dilapidated state. The ship deliberately beached itself on the shoal in 1999 and now serves as a fragile symbol of Manila’s territorial claim.
Chinese ships had in the past blocked and followed supply ships at the site, which has been surrounded for years by Chinese coast guards and fishing boats believed to be manned by militants.
Although states have no claims to the South China Sea, they have frequently criticized China’s aggressive actions and deployed military ships and fighter jets on patrols and maneuvers with allies in the region to maintain freedom of navigation and overflight, something Washington says will in the interest of the United States.
China has warned the United States to stop meddling in what it sees as a purely Asian issue.
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
