Back off, Philippines tells China after attack near disputed atoll
THREE Chinese coastguard vessels fired water cannons at two Philippine navy supply ships to block them from taking food provisions to military personnel stationed on a disputed atoll in the South China Sea, it has emerged.
Teodoro Locsin, the Philippine foreign secretary, said no one was injured in the incident on Tuesday at the Second Thomas Shoal but condemned the “illegal” actions in the strongest possible terms and told Beijing to “back off ”.
“China has no law enforcement rights in and around these areas,” he said yesterday. “This failure to exercise selfrestraint threatens the special relationship between the Philippines and China.”
He reminded China that Philippine public vessels were covered by the Philippines-united States mutual defence treaty and stressed that Manila had sovereignty and jurisdiction over the shoal.
The Philippine navy has maintained a small presence of less than a dozen staff on the reef since it deliberately ran a landing craft aground there in 1999.
Second Thomas Shoal is also claimed by China and Vietnam but the Philippines, which calls the area Ayungin, insists that it lies within its 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
Chinese ships have previously blocked Philippine supply ships, prompting the military to launch relief missions in the form of air drops.
Flare-ups over South China Sea territories have frequently caused tensions to rise between China, the Philippines
‘This failure to exercise self-restraint threatens the special relationship between the Philippines and China’
and other countries in the region, including Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.
China claims nearly the entire South China Sea based on its so-called ninedash line – its territorial demarcation – ignoring international rulings.
Earlier this year, Manila demanded China withdraw a fleet of ships that had been amassing since last month around the Whitsun Reef, saying that its presence indicated an intent to occupy Philippine waters.