New Delhi: The Philippines and Chinese vessels clashed again in the contested South China Sea during which one of the boats carrying the Philippine military chief on board was reportedly blasted with a water cannon Sunday.
Philippine army chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr called Beijing’s tactics “pure aggression”.
Gen. Brawner told the Associated Press that he was with Filipino forces aboard a supply boat that was blasted with a water cannon and also clashed with Chinese coast guard ships.
The Philippines military chief had joined navy personnel in a supply boat, the Unnaiza Mae 1, which brought Christmas gifts, food and other supplies to a small contingent of Filipino marines stationed aboard the BRP Sierra Madre at the Second Thomas Shoal. Gen. Brawner was then aboard the BRP Sierra Madre, which is at the centre of these clashes.
Calling for a “diplomatic solution at the higher level”, Gen. Brawner asserted that the Philippines “armed forces will continue our mission” as it is lawful and “it is our obligation to bring supplies to our troops in the frontlines, and it’s our obligation to protect our fishermen.”
While Manila Monday summoned the Chinese ambassador and filed diplomatic protests against Beijing, China responded stating that its Coast Guard’s actions against Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea were “professional”, “restrained” and necessary “in accordance with domestic and international law”. It added that Philippine vessels “ignored Chinese coast guard’s warnings and insisted on rushing into” waters near the Second Thomas Shoal.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning in a news briefing added that Beijing “has lodged stern representations with the Philippines and expresses its strong protest”.
The two countries have been locked in a tense standoff over the past year, over China’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea as well as the contested Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.
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‘Most aggressive attacks’
Officials revealed that over the past few days, the Chinese coast guard and militia ships targeted Philippines vessels on two consecutive days with water cannon blasts as well as rammed one of them, causing damage and endangering Filipino crew members of the Second Thomas Shoal and in the Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines.
This was one of the most aggressive attacks by Beijing this year, which caused “significant damage” to the communication and navigation equipment of one of the three Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ships, according to the Philippines officials.
They also revealed that, in previous clashes, Chinese ships used a military-grade laser that caused temporary blindness among the Filipino crew and engaged in dangerous blocking tactics that resulted in collisions.
According to the officials, more than 100 Chinese government and suspected militia ships have surrounded the disputed Second Thomas Shoal this month, which Gen. Brawner states “is much bigger than in previous months.”
China’s growing presence in disputed waters
The grounded warship BRP Sierra Madre is currently under the commission of the Philippines Navy and is used as a makeshift military base.
Therefore, any attack on it would be considered an act of war. It has been at the centre of the conflict between Beijing and Manila after it was intentionally grounded in the Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to function as a military post in the region.
China has repeatedly demanded the Philippines to remove the grounded World War II ship from the region, which it alleges Manila ignored and accused the country of trying to “permanently occupy” the Shoal.
The US, meanwhile, has repeatedly emphasised that in case of a Chinese armed attack, Washington is obligated to defend the Philippines — one of its oldest allies in Asia.
While the Philippines is a major non-NATO ally, it also renewed its 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with Washington in May, which mandates that both nations will support each other in case of attack from external parties.
China has warned the US not to interfere in what it calls “a purely Asian dispute.”
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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