The Philippines accused the Chinese coastguard on Thursday (November 18th) of firing water cannons at ships supplying Philippine military personnel in the hotly contested South China Sea, and called on Beijing to "reverse".

Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin said he conveyed to Beijing his "outrage, condemnation and recrimination" over the incident, which he said occurred on Tuesday as Philippine boats surrendered. in the Second Thomas Atoll, in the Spratly Islands disputed by the two countries.

[1] The Western Command in Palawan reports that on 16 November 2021, three (3) Chinese Coast Guard vessels blocked and water cannoned two (2) Philippine supply boats en route to transport food supplies to Philippine military personnel in Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal).

- DFA Philippines (@DFAPHL) November 17, 2021

"Fortunately, no one was injured; but our boats had to interrupt their refueling mission," Teodoro Locsin explained on Twitter, calling "illegal" the behavior of three Chinese buildings blocking the passage and firing water cannons. .

The minister called the Philippine ships "public", suggesting that they are civilian vessels, and assured that they were covered by a mutual defense pact with the United States.

"China does not have the right to enforce the law in and around these areas," he added, "it must be careful and backtrack."

Growing tensions

Tensions around the resource-rich sea are growing this year after hundreds of Chinese vessels were spotted near the disputed Whitsun Reef, which is also in the Spratley Archipelago.

China claims almost the entire sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade pass each year.

The area is also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Beijing is ignoring the ruling of an international tribunal in 2016, which found its historic claims to be baseless.

Beijing took control of several reefs including Scarborough in 2012, located 240 kilometers west of Luzon, the main island of the Philippines.

Some have been transformed into Chinese military bases with airstrips and port facilities.  

After China's occupation of Mischief Reef in the mid-1990s, inside the Manila Exclusive Economic Zone, the Philippines ran aground one of their vessels on a reef near Thomas in order to assert their sovereignty over The area.

Filipino Marines are based there. 

"Special relationship"

Teodoro Locsin said the fact that Beijing "does not show restraint threatens the special relationship" between the two countries.

"We are not asking permission to do what we need to do in our territory," he said.

Relations between Beijing and Manila have generally improved under the mandate of President Rodrigo Duterte, who is trying to get his country out of the fold of the United States, a former colonial power, and to strengthen its economic cooperation with Beijing.

Domestic pressures, however, forced him to take a harsher line and Rodrigo Duterte argued that his country's sovereignty in the area is non-negotiable.

With AFP

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