Dec. 4 (UPI) — Chinese warships and Coast Guard cutters fired water cannons and collided with a Philippines maritime patrol in disputed waters on Wednesday, marking the latest skirmish between the two countries over sovereignty in the South China Sea.
The incident occurred Wednesday morning near the Scarborough Shoal, a triangular chain of reefs and rocks located about 120 nautical miles west of the Philippine coast.
Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela said in a statement that a Chinese Coast Guard ship fired a water cannon and “intentionally sideswiped” patrol vessel BRP Datu Pagbuaya at 6:30 a.m. local time as it was protecting Filipino fishermen in the area.
In waters about 16 nautical miles south of the shoal, the Chinese ship aimed its water cannon at the navigational antennas of the Philippine ship, he said, adding the Chinese vessel then collided into the Philippine vessel’s starboard side.
Less than a half hour later, a second Chinese Coast Guard ship fired water cannons again on the same Philippine vessel, he said, accusing Chinese warships of performing “dangerous” and “reckless” maneuvers.
The Philippines Coast Guard shared several videos of the incident, seemingly captured by sailors on their smartphones, to social media. One video shows a Chinese Coast Guard vessel colliding at a high rate of speed with the side of the Philippines vessel.
Both the Chinese embassy in Manila and the China Coast Guard defended their actions in the disputed waters.
Liu Dejun, spokesman of the China Coast Guard, accused four Philippine vessels of having “invaded” Chinese territorial waters.
“These vessels dangerously approached Chinese Coast Guard ships conducting normal law enforcement patrols. In response, China implemented control measures in accordance with the law and regulations,” he said in a statement.
Tarrierla countered by stating: “China has no jurisdiction over Bajo de Masinloc.”
“The Philippines has sovereignty over it, including its territorial sea,” he said in a second statement.
“Consequently, the PCG and BFAR vessels are legitimately patrolling our waters, while it is China that is encroaching upon them and militarizing the area.”
The shoal — called Bajo de Masinloc by the Philippines and Huangyan Island by China — has been under Beijing’s control since its seizure in 2012. However, it is in disputed waters and has been the site of several confrontations between the two nations.
Beijing claims sovereignty over the shoal and much of the South China Sea via its Nine-Dash-Line maps that have been rejected by several nations, including the United States. The Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration also disregarded the maps in a 2016 ruling.
Last month, the Philippines passed laws seeking to strength is sovereignty over the disputed waters, including the shoal, which the U.S. State Department defended as legal and being “a routine matter” that “further clarifies Philippine maritime law.”
China responded by stating that the laws “illegally” include the shoal. Days later, it defined the baselines of the territorial sea adjacent to the disrupted collection of reefs and rocks.