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UPI
13 hours ago
- Politics
- UPI
China says it expelled a Philippine gov't ship from disputed waters
June 20 (UPI) -- China said its coast guard on Friday expelled a Philippine government ship from waters near a disputed shoal as maritime tensions between the two feuding neighbors intensify. China Coast Guard spokesperson Liu Dejun said in a statement that they "took necessary measures to expel the vessel, including verbal warnings, monitoring and intercepting maneuvers and water cannon deterrence." It accused the vessel of having "forcibly intruded into the territorial waters of China's Huangyan Island ... despite multiple warnings and dissuasions from the Chinese side." The Philippine ship was identified as government vessel No. 3306. "The spokesperson emphasized that the actions of the Philippine side seriously infringe upon China's sovereignty and violate both international and relevant Chinese laws," the statement said. "He added that repeated provocations and harassment by the Philippines cannot change the fact that Huangyan Island belongs to China. Huangyan Island is known internationally as the Scarborough Shoal and in the Philippines as Bajo de Masinloc. The disputed maritime territory is a triangular chain of reefs and rocks that falls within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, but China lays claim to it and much of the South China Sea through its Nine-Dash-Line maps, which have been rejected by several nations, including the United States. The Hague's Permanent Court of Arbitration also disregarded the maps in a 2016 decision. The Philippines has yet to comment on the incident, but it comes a day after its coast guard said it responded to the swarming of the Sabina Shoal by a Chinese maritime militia numbering more than 50 vessels. Two Philippine Coast Guard vessels and a fighter jet were deployed to address the militia, which was within the Philippines' EEZ, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said in a statement. Clashes between the Philippines and China in disputed waters are not uncommon, with the United States frequently voicing support for its ally Manila in the confrontations. On Monday, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative think tank issued a report stating the Scarborough Shoal has emerged as a new focal point in tensions between Manila and Beijing. It warned that increasing aerial and maritime interactions between the countries near the shoal threaten to trigger U.S. treaty obligations and "risk spiraling into a wider conflict." "At Scarborough, China is reacting to all navigation by Philippine government vessels within a much larger geographic area," the report states. "Without a clear point of compromise, it appears that any Philippine maritime asset operating between Scarborough Shoal and the eastern edge of the Nine-Dash-Line is likely to attract a Chinese escort -- and a heightened risk of accident -- for the foreseeable future."
South China Morning Post
16 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
South China Sea: China Coast Guard uses water cannon to expel Philippine vessel from shoal
China says its coastguard used a water cannon in an effort to expel a Philippine government vessel that entered waters of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in Beijing's latest confrontation with Manila in the disputed South China Sea China Coast Guard spokesman Liu Dejun said in a statement on Friday afternoon that Philippine vessel 3006 had 'ignored repeated warnings and insistently intruded' into Chinese waters near the strategic shoal. In response, China Coast Guard had implemented standard enforcement measures, including verbal warnings, close monitoring and water cannons to drive away the unauthorised ship, Liu said. 01:25 Chinese military helicopter and Philippine patrol plane in close encounter over Scarborough Shoal Chinese military helicopter and Philippine patrol plane in close encounter over Scarborough Shoal 'The Philippine side's actions constitute a serious violation of China's sovereignty and international law,' Liu said, adding that the Chinese side's response was 'professional, lawful and justified' under China's Coast Guard Law and related regulations. Manila has not commented on any incident at Scarborough Shoal or China's statement. The confrontation came a day after China accused the Philippines of 'illegally' operating in waters near the disputed Half Moon and Royal Captain shoals. In a late night statement on Thursday, Liu said China's coastguard had 'handled the situation in accordance with the law and regulations, with the on-site operations conducted in a professional and standardised manner'. 'The Philippine government vessels, under the pretext of so-called fishery protection, have illegally infringed upon China's rights and provocatively undermined stability in the South China Sea,' the statement said.
Miami Herald
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Video Shows US Ally Resupplying Military Outpost in Disputed Waters
The Philippines has released footage showing a recent supply and troop rotation mission to Second Thomas Shoal, a hot spot in the country's long-running territorial feud with China. China said it allowed the May 16 mission to proceed after notification by the Philippines, though the U.S. ally has maintained it "need not seek permission." Newsweek reached out to the Philippine military and Chinese Foreign Ministry with emailed requests for comment. Second Thomas Shoal-known in Manila as Ayungin Shoal and in Beijing as Ren'ai Reef-is situated within the Philippines' EEZ. The reef is uninhabited, except for a navy garrison stationed aboard a rusting warship, the BRP Sierra Madre, which the country deliberately grounded in 1999 to stake its claim. China insists the rusting vessel's presence is illegal and accused its neighbor of smuggling in supplies to repair it. Beijing claims sovereignty over most features in the South China Sea, including Second Thomas Shoal, and in 2023 and 2024 took forceful measures-including blockades and water cannons-to obstruct supply missions. Video shared by ABS-CBN show personnel aboard the Sierra Madre preparing to receive food and other supplies from the government-commissioned civilian vessel MV Lapu-Lapu. Four Chinese coast guard ships were observed in the area "but did not do any coercive or aggressive actions," Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, a spokesperson for the Philippine Navy, told reporters on the sidelines of an ASEAN event in Pasay City. It was the eighth such mission to take place without Chinese interference. The two neighbors said they had reached a deal to manage future supply missions in July, just weeks after a particularly aggressive interception by Chinese maritime forces that left Philippine sailors injured and drew condemnation from several countries. The exact terms of the agreement remain unclear, and each side has since accused the other of violating them. "With the permission of the Chinese side, the Philippines sent a civilian boat to transport daily necessities to its illegal 'beached' warship at Ren'ai Reef," Chinese coast guard spokesperson Liu Dejun said in a May 20 statement. "It is hoped that the Philippines will honor its commitments, work with China in the same direction, and jointly manage the maritime situation." Trinidad, the Philippine Navy spokesperson, pledged missions to the Sierra Madre would continue. "We need not seek permission from any foreign power, much more from one that has encroached into our exclusive economic zone. These missions will continue," he said. China has accused the Philippines of violating an alleged promise not to deliver construction materials to the warship-turned-military outpost. A former spokesperson for Rodrigo Duterte, the Southeast Asian country's president from 2016 to 2022, made waves last year after appearing to suggest the leader had made a "gentlemen's agreement" to that effect in exchange for maintaining the status quo in the area. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took office in June 2022, has denied any knowledge of such an arrangement and said he was "horrified" by the idea. South China Sea Probing Initiative, a Beijing-based think tank, wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "The gentleman's agreement works again. The China Coast Guard reported that under China's surveillance, the Philippines had just completed a supply mission without the Philippine Coast Guard for the grounded warship at Second Thomas Shoal on May 16." China will almost certainly continue pressing its claims within the Philippine EEZ and will most likely continue to face pushback from the Philippines. The Marcos administration enjoys broad support on the South China Sea issue, with a November poll showing that 84 percent of Filipinos back the government's pushback. Related Articles Green Card Holder Who Came to US as Young Child Detained Returning to USWATCH: Chinese Ship Blasts US Ally With Water CannonUS and Ally's Joint Forces Send Warning to ChinaChina Research Ship 'Loitering' Near Undersea Cables: Report 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
South China Morning Post
23-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
China deploys water cannon in Spratlys clash with Philippines over Sandy Cay
Tensions between Beijing and Manila in the disputed South China Sea have intensified after another confrontation near Sandy Cay, this time involving the use of water cannon and a collision. The Chinese coastguard said on Thursday that it had implemented the water cannon a day earlier as a control measure, against two Philippine vessels which it said had illegally intruded into waters near Subi Reef and Sandy Cay in the Spratly Islands. According to the coastguard statement, the Philippine vessels landed personnel on Sandy Cay and, ignoring repeated warnings, 'dangerously' approached a Chinese ship as it was carrying out regular law enforcement operations, resulting in the collision. Spokesperson Liu Dejun said in the statement that Chinese coastguard personnel lawfully implemented control measures on the Philippine vessels and went ashore to investigate and handle the situation. Their operations on site were professional, standardised, reasonable, and legal, Liu added. Sandy Cay is an unoccupied group of multiple sandbars known as Tiexian Jiao in China, and Pulo ng Bailan in the Philippines, with the official name of Pagasa Cay 2. It is the closest reef to Subi Reef, known in China as Zhubi Jiao, and its second-largest artificial island and military base in the South China Sea. It is also only a few kilometres from Thitu Island, the largest base the Philippines currently holds. 'We urge the Philippine side to immediately cease its infringing actions. The China Coast Guard will continue to carry out rights protection and law enforcement activities in waters under China's jurisdiction in accordance with the law,' Liu said.
Miami Herald
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Watch: Chinese Ship Blasts US Ally's Boat With Water Cannon
The Philippines on Thursday released footage of a confrontation between two government vessels and the Chinese coast guard in the South China Sea's hotly contested Spratly Islands. The Chinese cutter can be seen conducting close-quarter maneuvers that Manila said caused a collision, damaging the smaller Philippine vessel and putting its occupants' lives "at risk." Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Philippine Coast Guard for comment. The incident occurred Wednesday morning at Sandy Cay, a string of three sandbars near Thitu Island. Thitu is the only inhabited island in the Spratlys, home to around 250 residents, a modest military outpost, and the Philippines' only airstrip in the archipelago. China claims the island and most of the South China Sea as part of its territory, and has in recent years stepped up patrols to assert control over the waters. Confrontations between the neighbors' maritime forces have on rare occasions left Filipino sailors injured and brought renewed attention to the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty and the threshold for drawing Washington into a potential conflict with nuclear-armed Beijing. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said in a statement Thursday that Philippine vessels were on a "routine" mission supporting a scientific team collecting sand samples near Sandy Cay. In its attempt to disrupt the activity, Chinese coast guard vessel 21559 "sideswiped" the bow of one of the Philippine ships, the BRP Datu Sanday, damaging its bow and smokestack and "putting at risk the lives of its civilian personnel onboard," the agency said. The Chinese ship also deployed its water cannon-reportedly the first such use against a Philippine fisheries vessel near Sandy Cay. Despite what the bureau described as "aggressive interference, dangerous maneuvers, and illegal acts" by China, the Philippine team completed its research mission. China's coast guard pushed back, accusing the U.S. ally of "illegally" intruding into the waters around Sandy Cay without permission. Coast guard personnel "carried out control measures in accordance with the law and boarded the reef to verify the situation," state media quoted the agency as saying. Sandy Cay, known in the Philippines as Pag-asa and in China as Tiexian Reef, was also the focus of controversy in late April. China's coast guard posted a photo of personnel holding their national flag in a symbolic assertion of Beijing's sovereignty claim. Manila countered shortly after by dispatching a team to the feature to hold a photo-op with their own flag. Liu Dejun, Chinese coast guard spokesperson, was quoted by state media Thursday: "The Philippine side also sent personnel to illegally land on Tiexian Jiao and carry out activities there. In response, CCG law enforcement personnel carried out control measures in accordance with the law and boarded the reef to verify the situation. On-site operations were conducted in a professional, and lawful manner." China will almost certainly continue pressing its claims within the Philippines' maritime zone despite a 2016 decision by an international arbitral court dismissing these claims. The Philippines is expected to continue challenging Chinese incursions, strengthen security ties with the U.S. and regional allies, and advance its ambitious military modernization program. Related Articles US and Ally's Joint Forces Send Warning to ChinaChina Research Ship 'Loitering' Near Undersea Cables: ReportPhotos Show US Coast Guard Ship Deployed to Contested Waters Near ChinaNATO Member's Warship Sends Message to China 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
