South China Sea: Chinese coastguard takes ‘control measures’ against Philippine boats near Scarborough Shoal

Three Philippine fisheries bureau vessels ‘intruded’ into waters near disputed shoal, China Coast Guard says
Manila condemns use of water cannons to ‘obstruct’ government vessels delivering fuel and food supplies to fishing boats

South China Sea

Josephine Ma

Published: 8:45pm, 9 Dec 2023

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The Chinese coastguard says it took “control measures” on Saturday against Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea.

Three vessels from the Philippines’ Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources “intruded” into waters near the Scarborough Shoal, and Chinese ships had “lawfully taken control measures”, state news agency Xinhua cited a China Coast Guard statement as saying.

The shoal, called Huangyan Island in Chinese, is occupied by China but also claimed by the Philippines.

The short coastguard statement gave no further details.

In its statement, the Philippines said Chinese coastguard ships used water cannons to “obstruct” government vessels delivering fuel and food supplies to fishing boats in the area, as it condemned the “illegal and aggressive actions”.

It said one boat’s communication and navigation equipment sustained “significant damage”, while some Filipino crew also experienced “severe temporary discomfort and incapacitation” after Chinese vessels used what was believed to be a “long-range acoustic device”.

The incident is the latest in a series of confrontations amid rising tensions in the South China Sea.

In September, the Philippines said it carried out a “special operation” to remove a floating barrier installed by China near Scarborough Shoal, a move hailed by the United States as a “bold step”.

Beijing initially downplayed the incident, calling it “self-amusement” by the Philippines, but tensions have continued to build.

Manila slams Beijing’s fishermen-blocking ‘floating barrier’ in disputed shoal

China has also been accused of using water cannons in the disputed waters before.

In separate incidents in August and November, the Philippines said China deployed water cannons to obstruct vessels providing supplies to fishermen near the Second Thomas Shoal – a submerged reef that is part of the disputed Spratly Islands and claimed by multiple countries including China and the Philippines.

Both times, the Chinese coastguard said it had taken “control measures” after Philippine ships sailed close to the shoal without permission.

Earlier this week, the Philippines accused China of “swarming” a reef off its coast, saying more than 135 Chinese military boats were spotted in the South China Sea near Whitsun Reef. Manila, which says the reef is within its exclusive economic zone, called the presence of the military boats “alarming”.

Whitsun Reef – called Julian Felipe Reef by the Philippines – is around 320km (200 miles) west of Palawan island.

02:13

Philippines accuses Chinese coastguard of firing water cannons at its vessels in disputed waters

High-seas face-offs with Beijing have intensified since Ferdinand Marcos Jnr became president of the Philippines last year.

Backed by Washington and its allies, Manila has adopted a policy of “assertive transparency” that has seen it become more vocal about confrontations with Beijing in the South China Sea.

The Philippines has also carried out two separate joint air and sea patrols with the US, a treaty ally, and another set with Australia in recent weeks.

Last week, a Chinese military spokesman accused the US of instigating the Philippines against China, warning that American interference would “only make things worse”.

Meanwhile, 40 civilian boats set sail from Manila in what it called a “Christmas convoy”, to distribute supplies near the Second Thomas Shoal from December 10 to 12.

Additional reporting by Sylvie Zhuang and Agence France-Presse