go through Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, reporter
The Philippines Coast Guard (PCG) said Tuesday that a government ship operated by civilians was harassed by two Chinese Coast Guards while purchasing fresh catches from Filipino fishermen near Scarborough Shoals, marking the latest outbreak of controversial features in the South China Sea.
Authorities say the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) BRP Datu Gumbay Piang The Fisheries Agency in Manila, about 14 nautical miles (25.9 kilometers) east of Scarborough, damaged the ship and injured a Filipino crew member who suffered a crack in his ears due to broken bridge glass.
Another Chinese Coast Guard ship was conducting a “dangerous drill” while trying to use water cannons to target Philippine ships, PCG said.
“Filipino vessels have effectively performed safety operations to avoid any potential losses,” it said in a statement.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to Viber’s information seeking comments.
A Chinese naval ship also issued a radio warning to Filipino ships near Scarborough Shoals, announcing live exercises, sparking panic among Filipino fishermen in the region, PCG said.
“Despite hostilities, the PCG and DA-BFAR (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources) remain committed to maintaining our maritime jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea,” it said, using the Filipino name within Manila 200-200-nautical Mile (370 Gigabit).
CCG said Tuesday it fired water cannons at Philippine ships near the controversial Scarborough shoal in the South China Sea, accusing Manila of “illegal” invasion and crashes on one of the ships.
Chinese Coast Guard spokesman Gan Yu said Tuesday’s encounter involved 10 Philippine vessels, accusing the ship “illegally invaded Chinese territory from different directions from the Chinese Scarborough Shoal from different directions.”
He specifically accused the Philippine Coast Guard 3014 and said in a statement that it “ignore the solemn warning from the Chinese side and deliberately hit the Chinese Coast Guard ship.”
He added: “The Chinese Coast Guard has legally implemented control measures against Philippine vessels.”
Gan added that the measures include verbal warnings, route restrictions and water spray cannon spraying.
Beijing approved plans to establish a national nature reserve a week after controversial features, the confrontation in the Scarborough Shoals was a plan just 222 km from the coast of Luzon, but nearly 900 km from China’s Hainan Island.
China’s State Council said that nature reserves are an important measure to maintain the “diversity, stability and sustainability of natural ecosystems” in marine characteristics.
According to China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the reserve will cover 3,500 hectares of land on Huangshan Island, the Chinese name of Scarborough Shoal, and its coral reef ecosystem is the main conservation target.
Analysts say Beijing’s plan to classify shoals as nature reserves is equivalent to trying to occupy a moral high ground in disputes on atolls, known as China’s Huangyan Island and Philippines’ Panatag Shoal.
Scarborough has actually been under control of China since 2012. The Hague-based arbitral tribunal swept the South China Sea claim for China in 2016, but sovereignty over the rock atoll remains unresolved as the ruling does not allocate ownership.
The South China Sea has become a regional flashpoint, and China continues to advocate for its propaganda for almost the entire ocean, a crucial global trade route that is also believed to be rich in subsea gas and oil deposits.
Meanwhile, a Philippine military official said on Tuesday that any “control measures” taken by the country’s Chinese forces in the country’s exclusive waters are illegal as China claims a disputed shallow erupt in the South China Sea.
“Any control measures taken by the People’s Liberation Army Navy, the Chinese Coast Guard, or the maritime militia within our exclusive economic zone are illegal,” the admiral of the Southern China Sea Philippine Navy spokesperson said in a media briefing.
A spokesman for the Philippine Maritime Commission said there was no “truth” in China’s statement, i.e. it had taken control measures, which was considered “another case of China’s false information and propaganda.”
PHL-UK Visit Force Agreement
Also on Tuesday, Defense Minister Gilberto C. Teodoro said the UK (UK) had invited the Philippines to start negotiations on a possible visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), a move that could deepen ties between the two countries as tensions rise in the South China Sea.
He said he received a letter from his British counterpart on Tuesday, “inviting” the Philippines to start discussing VFA.
“We see some synergy, many synergies between the UK and the US,” he told lawmakers at a House hearing. “They are also willing to connect the maritime domain to the Indo-Pacific region.”
The Philippines has been bound by military agreements with the United States, Japan and Australia, and has built closer security ties with allies amid tensions with China’s controversial characteristics in the South China Sea.
Compared with his predecessor, security cooperation with allies was Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. – and Reuters
