'China used water cannon on indigenous boat carrying supplies'

ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A Chinese Coast Guard vessel used water cannons at the Philippine Coast Guard" s="" boats="" conducting="" a="" resupply="" mission="" on="" August="" Philippine="" Coast="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/08/06/08062023-chinese-coast-guard-vessel-used-water-cannons-philippine.jpg"/><figcaption>A Chinese Coast Guard vessel used water cannons at the Philippine Coast Guard&#x27;s boats conducting a resupply mission on August 5, 2023. <em>Philippine Coast Guard</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>The Philippine Coast Guard on Monday released more information on the water cannon incident involving China&#x27;s Coast Guard, saying Chinese vessels used water cannon on an indigenous boat on a supply mission to Ayungin Shoal.</p><p>In an interview, PCG spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said the boat used in the supply mission was not a Coast Guard or Philippine Navy vessel but an &quot;indigenous motorboat&quot; that was being escorted by BRP Cabra and BRP Malabrigo. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/06/23/china-blasts-water-cannons-at-filipino-boats-in-west-ph-sea-pcg">Philippines slams China&#x27;s use of water cannons at PCG boats in Ayungin Shoal</a></li></ul><p>Balilo noted the boat had instructions to push through with the supply mission &quot;para ma sustain natin &#x27;yung provision ng ating mga tauhan sa Ayungin Shoal.&quot;</p><p>The PCG earlier said its boats were delivering food, water, fuel, and other supplies to military troops stationed on BRP Sierra Madre at the Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) when they were intercepted by a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel.</p><p>The CCG then reportedly sailed dangerously close to the PCG boat and blasted water cannons at the Filipino crew.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2750957" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>PCG West Philippine Sea spokesperson Jay Tarriela slammed the CCG&#x27;s actions, calling them a &quot;violation of international law.&quot; </p><p>Among the laws the CCG allegedly violated, the PCG said, include the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the 1972 Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS), and the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) favoring the Philippines.</p><p>&quot;The PCG calls on the China Coast Guard to restrain its forces, respect the sovereign rights of the Philippines in its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, refrain from hampering freedom of navigation, and take appropriate actions against the individuals involved in this unlawful incident,&quot; Tarriela said.</p><p>&quot;We ask that China Coast Guard, as an organization with a responsibility to observe state obligations under UNCLOS, COLREGs, and other relevant instruments of international maritime safety and security, to cease all illegal activities within the maritime zones of the Philippines,&quot; he added.</p><div><script src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;version=v2.5" async="" type="text/javascript"></script></div><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/coastguardph/posts/pfbid02YKgvj9eL4vWo4emX2ADFxTt19FMkKzyrpXjHbxDoDR7D29fjwhUEPFLE8hSp8xwJl" data-width="auto"> </div><p>For its part, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said a second supply boat was unable to unload supplies and could not complete its resupply mission following the CCG incursion.</p><p>AFP called the CCG&#x27;s actions &quot;excessive and offensive.&quot;</p><p>&quot;We call on the China Coast Guard and the Central Military Commission to act with prudence and be responsible in their actions to prevent miscalculations and accidents that will endanger peoples&#x27; lives,&quot; the AFP said in a separate statement. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/06/23/china-blasts-water-cannons-at-filipino-boats-in-west-ph-sea-pcg">Philippines slams China&#x27;s use of water cannons at PCG boats in Ayungin Shoal</a></li></ul><p>China, meanwhile, claimed it had taken &quot;necessary controls&quot; against Philippines boats that had &quot;illegally&quot; entered its waters.</p><p>&quot;Two repair ships and two coast guard ships from the Philippines illegally broke into the waters... in China&#x27;s Nansha Islands,&quot; China Coast Guard spokesperson Gan Yu said, adding that Beijing had &quot;implemented necessary controls in accordance with the law and stopped Philippine ships carrying illegal building materials.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/27/23/china-eyes-military-drills-with-philippines-afp">China eyeing military drills with Philippines despite tensions, AFP chief says</a></li></ul><div><strong>REACTIONS</strong></div><p>China&#x27;s actions drew flak from foreign diplomats and Philippine lawmakers.</p><p>The United States said it was standing by the Philippines following the incident, saying China&#x27;s actions were &quot;directly threatening regional peace and stability.&quot;</p><p>The US also called China&#x27;s spraying of water cannons at PCG vessels &quot;unwarranted interference in lawful Philippine maritime operations.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Firing water cannons and employing unsafe blocking maneuvers, [Chinese] ships interfered with the Philippines’ lawful exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and jeopardized the safety of the Philippine vessels and crew,&quot; the US Department of State said in a statement.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/06/23/us-eu-diplomats-concerned-over-chinas-actions-vs-pcg-boats">US, EU, Japan diplomats express concern over China&#x27;s actions vs PCG boats</a></li></ul><p>&quot;As made clear by an international tribunal’s legally binding decision issued in July 2016, the PRC has no lawful claim to the maritime area around Second Thomas Shoal, which is located well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone,&quot; the US said.</p><p>&quot;The United States reaffirms an armed attack on Philippine public vessels, aircraft, and armed forces—including those of its Coast Guard in the South China Sea—would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 U.S. Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty,&quot; it added.</p><p>Australian Ambassador to the Philippines HK Yu also said her country was &quot;concerned&quot; by the incident, saying China&#x27;s actions were &quot;dangerous and destabilising.&quot; </p><p>&quot;We reiterate our call for peace, stability, and respect for UNCLOS in the South China Sea - a vital international waterway,&quot; Yu said in a tweet Sunday. </p><p>In another tweet, Japanese envoy to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa called the incident a &quot;harassment&quot; that was &quot;totally unacceptable,&quot; and that it infringed lawful activities of the sea and endanger the navigational safety.</p><p>The Canadian Embassy in the Philippines said that they &quot;unreservedly condemns the dangerous and provocative actions taken by the Chinese Coast Guard against Philippine vessels.&quot;</p><p>In a tweet, the Canadian Embassy said the unsafe maneuvers and use of water cannons is &quot;unacceptable, and inconsistent with the obligations of the People’s Republic of China under international law.&quot; </p>

The Philippine Coast Guard on Monday released more information on the water cannon incident involving China's Coast Guard, saying Chinese vessels used water cannon on an indigenous boat on a supply mission to Ayungin Shoal.