Chinese vessels deploy water cannons against Philippine civilian boats

MANILA, Philippines — Chinese Coast Guard vessels fired water cannons at Philippine boats near Scarborough Shoal (Bajo de Masinloc) in the West Philippine Sea early Tuesday, October 8, in an attempt to block the civilian vessels from delivering supplies to Filipino fishers.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said in a statement on Tuesday that two of its ships were on a routine resupply mission to Filipino fishers near Panatag Shoal when they were shadowed by three Chinese Coast Guard vessels and one Chinese warship.

The Chinese vessels attempted to interfere with the mission by tailing the BFAR ships and deploying water cannons, though the blasts failed to reach the Philippine vessels, the BFAR said.

Despite the reported “dangerous maneuvers” by the foreign vessels, civilian vessels BRP Datu Cabaylo and BRP Datu Sanday successfully resupplied seven large Filipino fishing boats and 16 smaller ones near Bajo de Masinloc.

The bureau said Chinese vessels’ actions would not keep it from continuing to patrol all Philippine maritime zones and support the country’s fishers in the West Philippine Sea. 

This fresh incident in the disputed waters comes less than a month after the Philippine government vowed to ramp up its rotational presence in the rich fishing grounds of Bajo de Masinloc to counter China’s harassment of Filipino fishers there.

RELATED: Filipino fishers: P10,000 aid won't cut it amid Chinese threats | Philstar.com 

Bajo de Masinloc is a resource-rich shoal in the South China Sea that was the site of a two-month standoff between Chinese and Philippine forces in 2012. The stalemate eventually ended with Beijing occupying and exercising control over the area. 

In a 2016 ruling, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled the shoal was the “traditional fishing ground“ of Filipinos, Chinese and Vietnamese nationals, but upheld Philippine jurisdiction over the resource-rich waters.  

Chinese vessels have also conducted similar maneuvers in the past against BFAR vessels this year. In August, Chinese Coast Guard vessels rammed and used water cannons against BRP Datu Sunday while it was delivering fuel and food supplies to fishing boats near Escoda Shoal, a feature deep within the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

Chinese vessels' hostilities toward fishing vessels that it deems to be trespassers were put in the spotlight last week after Vietnam accused China of violating its sovereignty by attacking its fishing vessels near the Paracel Islands.

The 10 Vietnamese fishermen were reportedly attacked with iron bars and robbed of thousands of dollars' worth of fish and equipment by Chinese law enforcement. 

The Philippines stood behind Vietnam over the incident and condemned China's actions in the disputed waters, which it described as "violent and illegal." Eduardo Ano, national security adviser, said the Chinese authorities' actions were an "unjustified assault"  and an "alarming act with no place in international relations."