A top Philippine general has accused China’s coast guard of firing water cannons at fishermen to drive them away from the disputed Scarborough Shoal.
General Emmanuel Bautista said the incident occurred on January 27. "The Chinese coast guard tried to drive away Filipino fishing vessels to the extent of using water cannon," he told a forum of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.
A senior military official in charge of monitoring the disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea said the Chinese vessels used a water cannon only to scare the Filipino fishermen off the shoal and the fishermen were not actually hit by the spray. The incident appeared to be isolated and no other acts of intimidation have been reported by Filipino fishermen.
Scarborough Shoal lies 220 kilometres (135 miles) off the main Philippine island of Luzon. It is about 650 kilometres (400 miles) from Hainan island, the nearest major Chinese land mass. In 2012, it was the scene of a standoff between China and the Philippines, when vessels from both countries refused to leave the area for weeks.
China ended up being triumphant, and has kept vessels at the shoal since then, with the Philippines challenging China’s territorial claims at a UN tribunal last year. Beijing has refused to be part of the progress.
China occupies the resource-rich area as part of its claim to most of the South China Sea, including waters near the coasts of its neighbours.
"We continue to give primacy to its (the dispute's) peaceful resolution principally through international arbitration," Bautista declared. He added that while the Philippines is hoping for a peaceful resolution, it would not hesitate to respond to provocation if needed.
Hua Chunying, China’s defense ministry spokeswoman, did not directly address the Philippine allegation, but told reporters in Beijing she “would like to re-emphasise that China has indisputable sovereignty over relevant waters and China's maritime surveillance fleet are carrying out routine patrols in relevant waters."
Earlier this month, China's state news agency branded Philippine President Benigno Aquino a "disgrace" for comments in connection with the South China Sea dispute in which he compared China to Nazi Germany.
Starting January 1, China has declared new fishing regulations, under which fishing vessels must seek permission from Chinese authorities before entering waters administered by the Hainan government, waters that make up 90 percent of the South China Sea, including parts within the exclusive economic zones of other countries.
Chinese-Japanese relations are also tense lately due to a non-related territorial dispute involving the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands in the East China Sea.
[Image via CDM]
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