In waters close to a disputed South China Sea shoal that is within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, Chinese coast guard ships opened fire on Filipino vessels carrying supplies to fishermen on Tuesday, according to the Philippine Coastguard.
The Philippine coastguard ship and one BFAR vessel are conducting a valid patrol at sea near Scarborough Shoal to deliver fuel and food supplies to local fishermen. Unfortunately, their operations were hampered by four Chinese coastguard ships and six Chinese maritime militia ships that conducted extremely dangerous maneuvers and aggressive tactics.
The Philippine Coastguard said a Chinese ship directly hit the BFAR vessel's starboard astern with its water cannon attack. On the other hand, the Philippine coastguard vessel suffered damage to its railing and canopy due to the harsh water cannon attacks of the Chinese ships.
"This damage serves as evidence of the forceful water pressure used by the China coastguard in their harassment of the Philippine vessels," the Philippine coastguard said.
Scarborough Shoal, which the Chinese refer to as Huangyan Dao or Democracy Reef, is located 230 kilometres off the northwest coast of the Philippines. Both China and the Philippines claim it.
In 2012, a military confrontation between the two nations revolved around the shoal, following which Beijing angrily seized the reef. Beijing does not acknowledge a 2016 court decision that declared China's historical claims to the region to be unfounded.
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