South China Sea: Beijing warns Philippines against ‘escalating situation’ after latest Second Thomas Shoal face-off
- Fresh warning comes after Manila accuses Chinese coastguard of blocking a supply boat off disputed shoal and damaging it with water cannons
- The Philippines is ‘entirely’ to blame, China says, vowing never to ‘sit idly by and ignore’ attempts by rival claimant to reinforce position
The hour-long incident on Saturday injured members of crew and caused “significant damage” to the vessel, the Philippine coastguard said.
The Philippine military also released footage of a white ship repeatedly dousing another vessel sailing alongside it with a water cannon. One clip showed two white ships simultaneously firing water at the same vessel.
China and Philippines blame each other for latest South China Sea collision
Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian said China sternly warned the Philippines “to stop making any remarks that may intensify conflicts and escalate the situation, and stop all infringement and provocations”.
“If the Philippines repeatedly challenges China’s bottom line, China will continue to take resolute and decisive measures to firmly safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” Wu said.
The ministry echoed a Chinese coastguard statement that the Philippine convoy “forcibly intruded into the area despite the Chinese side’s repeated warnings and route controls”. The Chinese carried out “control, obstruction and eviction in accordance with law”, the statement added.
Wu said China’s coastguard had “resolutely foiled the Philippines’ provocative attempt” to deliver supplies to its warship grounded at the Renai Reef, the Chinese name for the shoal.
The incident “was entirely caused by the Philippines’ provocation”, and China’s handling of the incident was “reasonable, legal, and professional”, he added.
The Philippines earlier described the manoeuvres undertaken by the Chinese side as “irresponsible and provocative”.
It was the second such encounter this month in the South China Sea, the strategic, resource-rich waterway over which Beijing makes vast territorial claims.
The shoal is part of the Spratly Islands – called Nansha in Chinese – where Manila and Beijing are among the rival claimants. The Philippines has outposts on nine reefs and islands in the Spratlys, including Second Thomas Shoal – which it calls Ayungin.
Wu said China was willing to properly resolve the dispute with the Philippines through dialogue and negotiation, but the Philippines had “betrayed its promise” and tried to reinforce its position by turning the warship into a permanent facility.
This “China will never sit idly by and ignore”, he said.
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State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) released a video clip of the encounter on social media on Saturday. The footage showed a person on a Philippine vessel waving what the post said was a “white flag”.
China’s actions were so “complete” and “decisive” that “the personnel on board the Philippine supply boat even waved a white flag”, an unnamed “expert” told the Global Times, a nationalist Chinese paper affiliated with the People’s Daily – the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party.
Collin Koh, senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said Beijing was trying to push a narrative of Philippine “surrender” as public emotions ran high.
“The [China] side would like to argue that the Filipinos were waving a ‘white flag’. The way I see it, it’s merely waving a piece of white fabric, perhaps a white shirt, to call on the CCG to desist,” Koh said, referring to the China Coast Guard.
