Chinese coast guard rams & damages Philippine vessel off an island in SCS

Manila: Chinese coast guard ships used powerful water cannons on Sunday and rammed and slightly damaged an anchored Philippine government vessel off an island inhabited by Filipinos in the disputed South China Sea, the Philippine coast guard said.

There were no injuries among Filipino crewmen of the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, part of the fisheries fleet that provides support to Filipino fishermen. The Chinese coast guard targeted Pagbuaya off the Philippines-occupied Thitu island in the latest flare-up of the long-simmering territorial disputes involving Manila, Beijing and four other governments.

Two other Philippine fisheries vessels were hit with water cannons in Sunday’s faceoff at least 1.6 nautical miles (nearly 3 kilometres) from Thitu island. There were no damages or injuries, Philippine coast guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a news briefing on Monday.

The Chinese coast guard accused the Philippine vessels of illegally entering what it called Chinese waters near a cluster of sandbars known as Sandy Cay, which lies between Thitu and China’s artificial island base called Subi and “ignoring repeated stern warnings from the Chinese side.” It said it “took control measures against the Philippine vessels in accordance with law and resolutely drove them away.”