Philippines says Chinese coast guard assaulted its vessels with water cannons for a second day
The Philippine coast guard says the Chinese coast guard has assaulted three Philippine vessels with water cannon blasts and rammed one of them, causing serious engine damage
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Chinese coast guard assaulted three Philippine vessels with water cannon blasts Sunday and rammed one of them, causing serious engine damage off a disputed shoal in the South China Sea just a day after similar hostilities at another shoal, the Philippine coast guard said.
The latest confrontation happened near Second Thomas Shoal as two Philippine navy-operated supply boats and Philippine coast guard escort ships were enroute to deliver food and other supplies to Filipino forces in a long-marooned navy ship that serves as a territorial outpost, said a coast guard spokesman, Commodore Jay Tarriela.
No other details were provided. Drone video footage and photographs issued by the Philippine coast guard show two Chinese coast guard ships separately blasting water cannons at close range at a Philippine coast guard patrol ship, BRP Cabra, and a smaller supply boat.
There was no immediate comment from Chinese officials.
China's ships, which have surrounded the Philippine-occupied Second Thomas Shoal for years, have blocked Philippine coast guard and supply boats in a years-long effort to take control of the hotly disputed atoll claimed by both nations.
The hostilities, which have been particularly heated this year, have stoked fears of an armed conflict that could involve the United States, which has vowed to defend the Philippines, its treaty ally, if Filipino forces come under armed attack.
In Saturday's confrontation, the Chinese coast guard and accompanying ships also trained water cannons at three Philippine fisheries vessels to prevent them from approaching Scarborough Shoal in the disputed waters off the northwestern Philippines.
That assault caused “significant damage” to the communication and navigation equipment of one of the three Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessels, officials said. It was condemned by the Philippines, the United States and Japan.
Philippine officials added that in addition to the use of water cannons Saturday, suspected militia vessels accompanying Chinese coast guard ships used a long-range acoustic device that could impair hearing, causing “severe temporary discomfort and incapacitation to some Filipino crew."
"We demand that the Chinese government take immediate action to halt these aggressive activities and uphold the principles of international law and desist from actions that would infringe on Philippine sovereignty and endanger the lives and livelihood of Filipino fishermen,” a Philippine government task force that deals with the territorial disputes said Saturday.
The U.S. ambassador to the Philippines, MaryKay Carlson, condemned China’s “aggressive, illegal actions” in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“This (Chinese) behavior violates international law and endangers lives and livelihood,” Carlson said. “We stand with our Philippine friends, partners, allies in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
In other high seas clashes this year, Chinese coast guard ships used a military-grade laser that caused Filipino crewmen temporary blindness and engaged in dangerous blocking and shadowing maneuvers that caused minor collisions, Philippines officials say.
More tensions loom.
A flotilla of 40 civilian fishing boats, backed by Philippine coast guard escort ships, was enroute Sunday to Second Thomas Shoal and two other Philippine-occupied areas to deliver Christmas food packs and other donated supplies to Filipino forces.