The China Coast Guard (CCG) again let loose with powerful water cannons against two Philippine vessels on a resupply mission to Filipino fishermen at Scarborough Shoal on Tuesday. One of the boats sustained damage, while no crewmen were hurt.

A Philippine Coast Guard ship, the BRP Bagagay, and one from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), the BRP Bankaw, were distributing fuel and food when they encountered four China Coast Guard (CCG) and six Chinese maritime militia vessels near the shoal.

PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Commodore Jay Tarriela, confirmed the water cannonading by the Chinese of the two Philippine vessels, which they also attempted to intimidate with dangerous maneuvers.

The BRP Bankaw was about two nautical miles from Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc, when the CCG vessel, with bow number 3305, fired a “jet stream” water cannon, directly hitting the BFAR vessel in its starboard stern or rear right side.

Tarriela said the PCG vessel was approximately 1,000 yards east-southeast of the shoal when both the CCG-3105 and CCG-5303 fired their jet stream water cannons, targeting the PCG vessel from both sides, resulting in damage to the ship’s railing and canopy.

“During the patrol, the Philippine vessels encountered dangerous maneuvers and obstruction from four China Coast Guard vessels and six Chinese maritime militia vessels,” the PCG said. “This damage served as evidence of the forceful water pressure used by the China Coast Guard in their harassment of the Philippine vessels.”

Barrier around shoal

The CCG had also placed a 380-meter floating barrier at the entrance to the shoal, reports said.

The CCG claimed it expelled the PCG and BFAR vessels.

China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Tuesday urged the Philippines to “stop provocative actions” in its “waters.”

“China advises the Philippines to immediately stop its infringing and provocative actions and not to challenge China’s firm determination to safeguard its sovereignty,” Lin said.

Beijing asserts its territorial claim over nearly the whole South China Sea, dismissing competing claims from countries like the Philippines.

However, a 2016 international arbitral ruling affirmed the Philippines’ claim to the West Philippine Sea while shooting down China’s claim as baseless. The WPS overlaps the SCS.

Scarborough Shoal is a triangular chain of reefs and rocks located about 900 kilometers from Hainan, China and 240 kilometers west of Luzon, the main island of the Philippines.

US, Phl joint exercise

Tuesday’s incident came as the Philippines and the United States held a major annual military exercise that has infuriated Beijing. Manila and Washington have a mutual defense treaty and recent confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels have fueled speculation of what would trigger it.

Top US officials have repeatedly said that “an armed attack” against Philippine public vessels, aircraft, armed forces or coast guard anywhere in the South China Sea would invoke the treaty.

Senators Francis Tolentino and Jinggoy Estrada scored China’s actions against the PCG and BFAR vessels.

“This incident again highlights China’s persistent aggression toward civilian vessels, an actuation not countenanced by international law,” Tolentino said.

“We strongly condemn the continuous aggressive actions of the Chinese naval forces that put the lives of our fellow Filipinos at risk by resorting to water cannons,” Estrada said.

Meanwhile, the AFP reported detecting at least three Chinese research vessels loitering within the vicinity of the Ayungin Shoal in the WPS. It said the vessels “were not doing anything” when they were spotted in the area but were merely “posturing.”

“It is their way of showing that they are not deterred, they are not scared by what’s happening in the WPS. They timed it with our conduct of our Balikatan exercises (with the United States and France).