Manila has published videos showing a Philippine boat being pummeled by Chinese water cannons as it attempted to carry out the U.S. defense treaty ally's latest routine supply mission to a contentious South China Sea military outpost.
On their way to deliver fresh supplies and troops to the warship-turned-outpost BRP Sierra Madre at Second Thomas Shoal early Saturday morning, supply boat Unaizah May 4 and her two coast guard escorts were met by a blockading force of Chinese paramilitary and coast guard vessels.
Beijing claims sovereignty over Second Thomas Shoal, as it does most of the South China Sea, though the reef lies within the Philippines' internationally recognized exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and nearly 700 miles from the nearest Chinese province.
Footage released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines later on Saturday shows the Chinese crews steering close enough to risk collisions as they sought to head off their Philippine counterparts.
The Chinese coast guard can also be seen turning their water cannons onto the Unaizah May, not only seeking to herd the smaller ship away but also lashing its hull and cockpit with the high-pressure hoses.
"China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia vessels once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers against the routine RoRe (rotation and resupply) mission to the BRP Sierra Madre," the multi-agency National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said in a statement Saturday.
The sustained water cannon fire rendered Unaizah May 4 inoperable and caused multiple injuries, the task force said, without specifying the nature or number of the wounds.
The Philippine coast guard ships managed to evade the harassing Chinese vessels brought assistance and medical attention to the stricken boat's crew, the statement added.
The mission ultimately succeeded when the Sierra Madre dispatched rigid-hulled inflatable boats to unload supplies and personnel from the convoy.
"The China Coast Guard regulated, stopped and drove away Philippine vessels in accordance with laws and regulations, and resolutely smashed Philippine attempts to infringe on rights and provoke," Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Wu Qian said in a statement Sunday.
The incident recalled the last RoRe mission less than three weeks earlier. Unaizah 4 was one of two boats commissioned by the Philippine Navy for the journey, and four were injured when a water cannon splintered its windshield, according to Manila.
"China is willing to see how far it can go in terms of escalating its belligerent and unlawful activities in the Philippine exclusive economic zone," Don McLain Gill, Manila-based geopolitical analyst and lecturer at De La Salle University's Department of International Studies, told Newsweek.
"China also is wary of escalating it to a certain degree that can or may trigger a shooting war. However, thus doesn't mean that it will not make its presence felt during the next resupply mission," he said, adding that Beijing is testing Manila and its partners' willingness to hold it accountable.
Newsweek reached out to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs and U.S. State Department for comment.
The State Department condemned the actions by China's maritime forces on Saturday and reiterated the Washington's Mutual Defense Treaty with Manila applies anywhere in the South China Sea.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
fairness meter
To Rate This Article
About the writer
Micah McCartney is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers U.S.-China relations, East Asian and Southeast Asian ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
