Chinese Coast Guard fires water cannon at Philippine ship, injuring people

In the latest clashes near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, a Chinese coast guard ship hit a Philippine supply ship with water cannon on Saturday, injuring a navy crew member and severely damaging the wooden vessel, Philippine officials said.

The United States and Japan immediately expressed support for the Philippines and expressed vigilance against the Chinese military’s aggressive behavior near Second Thomas Shoal. In the past year, Chinese and Philippine ships have had multiple confrontations at Second Thomas Shoal.

The remote shoal has been occupied by a small detachment of the Philippine Navy and Marine Corps on a stranded warship since 1999, but it has been occupied by the Chinese Coast Guard and suspected militiamen in an increasingly tense territorial standoff. Surrounded by boats. This is the second time since March that the Philippine ship Unaizah May 4 has been damaged by a water cannon attack by the Chinese Coast Guard.

Recurrent high seas confrontations have stoked concerns that they could spiral into a larger conflict that would pit China and the United States on a collision course.

Washington does not lay claim to the busy global trade route but has deployed naval ships and fighter jets in so-called “freedom of navigation” operations, which China has criticized.

The United States has also repeatedly warned that it is obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Philippine troops, ships or aircraft come under armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement on Saturday that the United States “stands with our ally the Philippines in condemning the dangerous actions taken by the People’s Republic of China on March 23 in response to the Philippines’ lawful maritime operations in the South China Sea.”

He said the Chinese ships’ “repeated use of water cannons and reckless interception maneuvers resulted in injuries to Filipino servicemen and severe damage to the supply ship, which rendered it unable to move.”

At dawn on Saturday, the Unaiza, escorted by two Philippine Coast Guard ships, was en route to deliver supplies and a new group of Philippine sailors to the territorial outpost of the shoal on May 4 when it was intercepted by the Chinese Coast Guard. Blockade and siege of boats and suspected militia vessels. .

“Their reckless and dangerous actions culminated in a water cannon attack on the Unazai on May 4, causing severe damage to the ship and injuring Filipinos on board,” said the Philippine government’s task force responsible for handling territorial conflicts. But no Detailed description.

Two Philippine Coast Guard patrol boats maneuvered through the Chinese blockade, treated the injured Filipino crew members, and towed away the paralyzed supply ship. Philippine officials said another motorboat successfully transported a new batch of Filipino crew and supplies to a Philippine outpost in the shallow waters of the shoal, despite attempts by the Chinese Coast Guard to set up floating barriers in the sea to intercept them.

They said the hostilities lasted about eight hours.

“The Philippines will not be prevented from exercising its legitimate rights in our waters because of veiled threats or hostility,” the government task force said in a statement. “We ask China to demonstrate to the international community that it is a responsible and responsible member of the international community with actions rather than words. Trustworthy member.”

China Coast Guard spokesman Gan Yu said the Philippine vessel ignored repeated warnings and invaded China’s territorial waters. “The Chinese Coast Guard supervises, intercepts and expels people in accordance with the law, which is reasonable and professional,” Gan said.

“The United States stands with the Philippines in opposing China’s repeated dangerous actions and use of water cannons to disrupt” the Philippine Coast Guard’s “legitimate activities” in Manila’s exclusive economic zone, said Washington Ambassador to Manila Mary Kay Carlson.

Kazuya Endo, Japan’s ambassador-designate to Manila, reiterated that Japan “expresses serious concern over the Chinese Coast Guard’s repeated dangerous actions in the South China Sea, which have resulted in injuries to Filipinos.”

In addition to China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims to the resource-rich and busy waterway, although a 2016 international arbitration ruling invalidated their broad claims on historical grounds. But Beijing still claims nearly the entire waterway. .

A video released by the Philippine military showed that on May 4, two Chinese Coast Guard ships used high-pressure water cannons to spray the smaller wooden ship Unaisa at close range, causing the ship to drift on the high seas.

During a confrontation near Second Thomas Shoal on March 5, the Chinese Coast Guard used high-pressure water cannons to bombard the Unazai on May 4, shattering its windshield and causing a Philippine Navy admiral to and four of his crew suffered minor injuries from shards of glass and splinters.

After the conflict on March 5, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Manila summoned the Chinese deputy ambassador to protest against the behavior of the Chinese Coast Guard, saying that this behavior was unacceptable.