China and Philippines Tensions Escalate After Water Cannon Incident

Tensions between China and the Philippines are continuing after Manila’s coastguard accused its Chinese counterpart of firing a water cannon at government vessels near a disputed shoal for the second day.

The Philippine Coast Guard said on Friday that a Chinese vessel at the Scarborough Shoal, in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, came within about seven metres (23 feet) 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.

Tarriela added that the shoal was a traditional fishing ground of Filipinos, “whose rights cannot be lawfully impeded by any foreign power”.

The coastguard added that 12 China Coast Guard vessels and three Chinese maritime militia vessels were involved in the incident, and water cannon hit two Philippine ships, while two others had to make dangerous manoeuvres, risking collisions.

The vessels were delivering fuel subsidies to Filipino fishermen and conducting routine patrols at the Scarborough Shoal, also known to locals as Bajo de Masinloc, which lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

Earlier on Friday, the China Coast Guard said it had imposed “control measures” on several Philippine vessels it claimed were operating illegally in waters around the shoal.

In a more detailed statement, it accused the Philippines of organising several government and coastguard 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 Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the coastguard’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.

The two incidents at Scarborough Shoal, the South China Sea’s most contested area, came after a confrontation on Monday at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, 650km (400 miles) away from where Manila said a Filipino sailor was injured after being hit with a baton by Chinese coastguard personnel.

Beijing had accused the Philippine Navy of ignoring warnings and of trying to ram a Chinese patrol boat. Both countries have summoned each other’s ambassadors in protest.

But China has long occupied the Scarborough Shoal, deploying an armada of coastguard ships throughout the South China Sea.

Beijing also claims sovereignty over nearly all of the waterway, including parts of the Exclusive Economic Zone of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The tensions also come as Southeast Asian foreign ministers finished regional meetings in Manila that were attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who called Beijing’s actions in the sea “disturbing”, reaffirming support for the Philippines, with which the US has a defence treaty.