Philippines flags near-doubling of Chinese presence in disputed waters
China’s military and coast guard presence in South China Sea waters claimed by the Philippines nearly doubled last month, Manila said Thursday, the same day it reported a fresh standoff near a disputed shoal during the rescue of a sick sailor.
A crew member of the China Coast Guard vessel 5205 removes the cover of a 70 mm cannon and aims it toward the BRP Teresa Magbanua near Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea in August 2022. File photo: Philippine Coast Guard.
Beijing claims most of the strategic waterway despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, and confrontations between Philippine and Chinese ships have in some cases led to collisions resulting in injuries and damage.
In September, Manila monitored 101 Chinese navy and coast guard ships around Philippine-garrisoned Thitu Island and Second Thomas Shoal, as well as off Sabina Shoal and Chinese-controlled Scarborough Shoal.
That was nearly double the previous month’s total of 56 vessels, according to a military tally.
‘Mission kill’
The Chinese buildup aims to “break our people’s resolve to keep what is ours”, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Philippine military’s South China Sea spokesman, told AFP.
“It’s called mission kill. It seeks to destroy your capability to continue the mission,” he added.
The latest confrontation took place on Thursday when the Philippine Coast Guard accused its Chinese counterpart of obstructing the medical evacuation of an ailing Filipino soldier.
The soldier was part of a small military unit based on a derelict Philippine warship that Manila had grounded atop Second Thomas Shoal, which it says is part of its exclusive economic zone.
A China Coast Guard vessel fired a water cannon in an “apparent attempt” to prevent a Philippine patrol ship from reaching the warship to fetch the sick soldier, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a statement.
The water canon “obstructed and delayed the mission for nearly 10 hours”, forcing the Philippine ship to leave the area to ensure crew safety, Tarriela said, though he added the spray did not directly hit the vessel.
Sabina Shoal. Photo: European Union.
The Coast Guard deployed rubber boats from about 24 kilometres (13 nautical miles) away to pick up the soldier, who is now in stable condition.
“Using a water cannon during a humanitarian mission is dangerous and unlawful. It puts lives at sea at risk and violates basic standards of maritime conduct,” Tarriela said.
The Chinese embassy spokesman in Manila did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Fighter jet interference
Last weekend, Manila accused China’s military and coast guard of harassing government aircraft and boats in two areas of the South China Sea that lie within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
One incident included alleged interference by a Chinese fighter jet with a Philippine Cessna 208 turboprop that was conducting a “routine military patrol” near Scarborough Shoal on Saturday.
A China Coast Guard ship, meanwhile, “shadowed and blocked” Philippine boats trying to approach a foreign fishing vessel it accused of using dynamite to catch fish, the Philippine coast guard said.
Beijing this week warned Manila against “provocative acts” in the disputed waters, saying the Philippine Cessna near Scarborough was violating its airspace.