MANILA: The Philippine Coast Guard on Friday (Jul 24) accused its Chinese counterpart of firing water cannon at government vessels near a disputed shoal for a second day, in the third confrontation between the two countries in the South China Sea this week.
It said a Chinese vessel at the Scarborough Shoal, located in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), came within about 7m of a Philippine fisheries boat, creating “a serious risk of collision”.
“The PCG strongly condemns the dangerous and unprofessional actions of the China Coast Guard,” spokesperson Jay Tarriela said in a statement.
He said the shoal was a traditional fishing ground of Filipinos, “whose rights cannot be lawfully impeded by any foreign power”.
Earlier on Friday, China’s Coast Guard said it had imposed “control measures” on several Philippine vessels that it said were operating illegally in waters around Scarborough Shoal.
In a more detailed statement, the Chinese Coast Guard accused the Philippines of organising several government and Coast Guard vessels, along with a large number of fishing vessels, to “illegally gather” in the waters.
It said it had taken legal measures to warn, block and deploy water cannon after the official vessels from the Philippines ignored those measures from the Coast Guard and “insisted on intruding”.
A similar incident took place on Thursday.
On Friday, China’s foreign ministry said the Coast Guard’s actions were “reasonable, lawful and beyond reproach.”
“The Philippine side should immediately stop the infringement, provocation and hype,” ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular briefing.
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