The Philippines on Tuesday accused China’s coast guard of harassing and damaging one of its boats in a disputed area of the South China Sea, Philippine media reported.
The triangular chain of reefs and rocks that form Scarborough Shoal is 240 kilometres (150 miles) west of the main Philippine island of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometres from Hainan, China’s nearest major land mass.
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said two Philippine vessels on maritime patrol collided with four Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ships and six of its maritime militia vessels in the area on Monday morning.
One of the vessels was hit by water cannons from one of the CCG ships about 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres) from the shoal, while another, a PCG vessel, was hit by water cannons fired from two CCG ships when it was about 1,000 yards (914 metres) from the shoal, which the Philippines calls Bajo de Masinloc.
Tarriela wrote on X that the ship’s railings and canopy were damaged. A video accompanying the post shows water cannons hitting the left side of the boat as well as the starboard side closer to the bow. Tarriela added:
This damage serves as evidence of the forceful water pressure used by the China Coast Guard in their harassment of the Philippine vessels.
On Tuesday, Beijing said it had “expelled” Philippine vessels from the area, a traditional fishing ground that also provides shelter in stormy weather.
Tarriela said China also erected a barrier about 415 yards (380 metres) long across the entrance to the shoal, which is about 220 kilometres (137 miles) off the Philippine coast and within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the EEZ extends about 200 nautical miles (about 370 kilometres) from the country’s coast.
China first installed the barrier last year, but the Philippines removed it in September, saying it violated international maritime law.
The Philippines and China have been involved in numerous incidents in and around the disputed reef in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims is almost entirely divided by a nine-dash line that an international tribunal in 2016 found to be unjustified.
Manila took its case to the tribunal after China seized Scarborough Shoal more than a decade ago. China ignored the tribunal’s ruling and continued to press its claims.
China and the Philippines have previously said they would seek to improve communication and governance over skirmishes in the vast South China Sea, but tensions have risen recently as the Philippines forges stronger diplomatic and military ties with its ally the United States.
