MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine military chief said Monday that he was onboard a supply boat with his men when it was blasted with a water cannon, encircled, and shoved by Chinese coast guard ships in the disputed South China Sea over the weekend.
Meanwhile, the Chinese communist dictatorship accused the US of urging the Philippines, a treaty partner, to provoke China for its own goals, albeit providing no concrete evidence.
The series of furious clashes highlights the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) resolve to stake its claim to almost the whole South China Sea, despite the risk of sparking a wider conflict that would disrupt shipping and other marine activity in the vital waterway.
In a phone conversation, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. told The Associated Press that the CCP was expanding its aggressiveness in the disputed waters, but that this would not discourage Filipino soldiers from protecting their territorial rights.
Over 100 official Chinese and other CCP-linked ships have flooded the high waters near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, where a marooned Philippine naval ship inspected by Gen. Brawner has stood for decades. He stated that their presence was far more than in prior months.
“It’s pure aggression,” Gen. Brawner said. “I witnessed how many times the big Chinese coast guard and militia ships cut our path. They water-cannoned us, then bumped us. It’s angering.”
“This really needs a diplomatic solution at the higher level,” he said, but added that the armed forces would continue to support front-line troops and protect fishermen.
Gen. Brawner, the 150,000-member Armed Forces of the Philippines' chief of staff educated in the United States, joined navy personnel aboard the Unnaiza Mae 1, a wooden-hulled supply boat that brought Christmas gifts, food, and other supplies to a small contingent of Filipino marines and navy personnel stationed aboard the BRP Sierra Madre at Second Thomas Shoal.
Although it is already disintegrating with rust and holes, the slightly listing Sierra Madre is still an operational Philippine naval ship, which means any attack on it would be considered an act of war. It has become a frail symbol of the Philippines' territorial ambitions.
Gen. Brawner stated that he delivered President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s Christmas wishes to the Filipino military and had a customary rice meal with them.
The US has frequently warned that it is bound to protect the Philippines, its longest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino soldiers, ships, or planes are attacked, particularly in the South China Sea. The CCP has cautioned the US not to interfere in what it claims is a strictly Asian debate.
Philippine officials said over the weekend that the Chinese coast guard and suspected militia ships targeted Philippine vessels with water cannon blasts two days in a row and rammed one of them, causing damage and endangering crew, off Second Thomas Shoal and separately in Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines.
According to Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Teresita Daza, more than a dozen nations, including the United States, Japan, the European Union, Germany, France, Canada, and Australia, have voiced support for the Philippines and worry over the occurrences.
The Chinese coast guard's high-pressure water cannon blasts crippled and damaged the engines of the Philippine supply boat M/L Kalayaan, which had to be towed back to a Philippine port, according to Philippine officials. The BRP Cabra, one of two Philippine Coast Guard escort ships, experienced mast damage.
The Chinese coast guard said it had “implemented controls in accordance with laws and regulations.” The statement gave no details about the measures taken.
“The responsibility lies entirely with the Philippine side,” the Chinese coast guard said.
The U.S. State Department said the actions by China’s ship “were dangerous and unlawful” and undermined regional stability. It renewed a vow that it would defend Philippine forces if they face an armed attack.
The CCP has resisted all international censure and legal action, including a 2016 verdict by a United Nations-backed arbitration panel that nullified the CCP's claims, rendering them legally ineffective. According to the Chinese dictatorship, it has the legal right to "defend its sovereignty" in the South China Sea due to its vast claim.
On Saturday, the Chinese coast guard and supporting ships fired water cannons at three Philippine fishing vessels, damaging one of them, in an attempt to keep them from reaching Scarborough Shoal. Chinese warships, according to officials, deployed a long-range sonic gadget that might damage hearing, inflicting "severe temporary discomfort and incapacitation to some Filipino crew."
In previous high-seas incidents this year, officials in the Philippines said that Chinese coast guard ships used a military-grade laser to temporarily blind Filipino crew members and participated in risky blocking and shadowing techniques that resulted in small accidents.
