After a month of calm, China harasses Philippine patrol in the South China Sea

Chinese coast guard vessels backed by navy ships fired powerful water cannons and blocked and sideswiped a Philippine patrol vessel on Dec 4. in renewed aggression at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, Philippine officials said.

Three Philippine coast guard and bureau of fisheries vessels were on routine patrol to protect Filipino fishermen at Scarborough Shoal when several Chinese coast guard and navy ships approached and staged “aggressive actions” after dawn, the Philippine coast guard said.

There was no immediate comment from Chinese officials. In the past, they have repeatedly cited claims of Chinese sovereignty in the contested offshore region and their determination to defend what they say is their territory despite a 2016 international arbitration decision that invalidated Beijing’s historical claims.

The United States condemned China’s “unlawful use of water cannons and dangerous maneuvers.” U.S. Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson said on the social media platform X that the Chinese maneuvers disrupted a Philippine maritime operation and “put lives at risk.”

“We condemn these actions and stand with our like-minded friends, partners, allies in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Ms. Carlson said.

China’s reported actions in the disputed waters came after a respite of more than a month while back-to-back major storms prevented many Philippine fishing and commercial vessels from venturing into dangerously rough seas.

Despite the Chinese ships’ “reckless” maneuvers, the Philippines coast guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource said they renewed their “commitment to protecting the rights and safety of our fishermen within our maritime jurisdiction.”

“We will continue to be vigilant in safeguarding our national interests in the West Philippine Sea,” the two Philippine law enforcement agencies said, using the Philippine name for the seas off the archipelago’s western coast.

The Chinese maritime maneuvers “are not standard law enforcement actions,” Philippine coast guard Commodore Jay Tarriela said, adding they “should be interpreted as unlawful aggression by international law violators.”

China’s sweeping claims cover virtually the entire waterway and overlap with the territorial waters, exclusive economic zones, and high seas claims of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan. Indonesia has also had confrontations with the Chinese coast guard, which backs Beijing’s fishing fleets.

On Dec. 4, one of the Philippine vessels, BRP Datu Pagbuaya, was hit by high-pressure water fired from a Chinese coast guard ship with bow number 3302 which targeted its navigational antennas about 16 nautical miles south of Scarborough, Manila’s coast guard said.

Shortly after, the Chinese coast guard ship “intentionally sideswiped the BRP Datu Pagbuaya on its starboard side” and then “launched a second water cannon attack on the same vessel,” it said.

Philippine coast guard ship BRP Teresa Magbanua “faced blocking, shadowing, and dangerous maneuvers” by two Chinese navy and coast guard ships, it said. Another Philippine coast guard ship, the BRP Cabra, “was subjected to reckless maneuvers” by a Chinese coast guard ship at a distance of about 300 yards (274 meters), Philippine coast guard officials said.

At a news conference Dec. 4, Philippine coast guard and national security officials showed videos of the Chinese coast guard’s use of water cannon and maneuvers close to the Philippine vessels.

The long-simmering territorial disputes are a delicate fault line in the U.S.-China rivalry in the region. The U.S. lays no claims in the waters, which are a key global shipping route, but has declared that freedom of navigation and overflight and the peaceful resolution of the conflicts are in its core national interests.

The U.S. has warned that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines, a treaty ally, if Filipino forces come under attack in the South China Sea. The United States and the Philippines signed an agreement on Nov. 18 to secure the exchange of highly confidential military intelligence and technology in key weapons the U.S. would provide to Manila. The longtime treaty allies have boosted their defense and military engagements, including large-scale joint combat drills, largely in response to China’s increasingly aggressive actions in Asia.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.