Chinese coastguard vessels have blocked and used water cannon on two Philippine supply boats heading to a disputed shoal occupied by Filipino marines in the South China Sea, drawing an angry protest from Manila.
The Philippines’ foreign secretary, Teodoro Locsin Jr, said on Thursday that no one was hurt in the incident on Tuesday, but the two supply ships had to abort their mission to provide food supplies to Filipino forces stationed on the Second Thomas Shoal, which lies off western Palawan province within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
In a tweet, Locsin described the actions of the three Chinese coastguard ships as illegal, adding: “Take heed and back off.” He said the Philippine government had conveyed “our outrage, condemnation and protest” to China, warning that the lack of self-restraint threatened the special relationship nurtured by Presidents Rodrigo Duterte and Xi Jinping.
There was no immediate comment from Chinese officials in Manila or Beijing. The incident is the latest flare-up in long-simmering territorial disputes in the South China Sea, where China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims. China claims almost all of the waterway and has transformed seven shoals into missile-protected island bases.
Locsin has reminded that the Philippine vessels are covered under a mutual defence treaty with the United States. Washington, which has no territorial claims in the region, has repeatedly assured Manila that it will honour its obligations under the treaty if Philippine forces, ships or aircraft come under attack in the disputed area.
