At Philippine military The chief on Wednesday demanded that China return some guns and equipment seized by China coast guard in the disputed shoal and paid compensation in the attack he compared the act of piracy in South China Sea.
Chinese personnel on board more than eight motor boats repeatedly rammed and boarded a Philippine navy rubber boat on Monday to prevent Philippine navy personnel from delivering food and other supplies including firearms to a Philippine territorial outpost at Second Thomas Shoal, which Beijing also claims , according to Philippine officials.
After repeated skirmishes and collisions, the Chinese seized the boats and destroyed them with machetes, knives and hammers. They also seized eight M4 rifles, packed in cases, navigation equipment and other supplies and injured several Philippine navy personnel, including one who lost his right thumb, two Philippine security officials told The Associated on Tuesday.
The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive conflict publicly.
Video and photos released by the Philippine military on Wednesday night showed chaotic faces on the shoal, with Chinese personnel onboard the boat brandishing knives, axes and sticks as they surrounded two Philippine navy supply vessels next to the Manila shipping post. Sirens blare constantly as both sides shout at each other and the Chinese smash a Philippine navy boat with a pole and take what appears to be a bag with sticks.
Pictures show a damaged Philippine navy boat with its side floaters slashed and deflated and another boat with a broken windshield and navigation screen. A man displays a broken cell phone.
“We demand that the Chinese return our guns and equipment and we also demand that they pay for the damage they have done,” Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., head of the Philippine armed forces, told a news conference in the west. Palawan Province, where he pinned a medal on a wounded naval officer.
“They boarded the boat illegally and seized our equipment,” Brawner said. “He’s like a pirate now by acting like that.”
Armed with long knives and machetes, Chinese coast guard personnel tried to subdue the unarmed Filipinos, who resisted using their bare hands by resisting punches and shoving the Chinese, Brawner said. “Our goal is also to prevent war.”
Some of the Chinese pointed knives at Philippine navy personnel, he said.
China blames it Philippines for confrontation, said Filipino personnel “trespassed” into the shoal in defiance of its danger.
“This is the direct cause of the incident,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in Beijing. “The Chinese coast guard on the scene has taken professional law enforcement measures with the aim of stopping the illegal supply mission by the Philippine ship and no direct action has been taken against the Philippine personnel.”
The United States renewed its warning Tuesday that it must defend the Philippines, a treaty ally.
The Second Thomas Shoal, part of the disputed Spratly Islands, has been occupied by a small Philippine navy contingent on warships that have been closely monitored by China’s coast guard and navy during years of territorial disputes. China claims the entire South China Sea.
There are fears that disputes in the South China Sea, long considered an Asian flashpoint, could escalate and plunge the United States and China into a bigger conflict. Apart from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have conflicting territorial claims on the busy waterway.
Since last year, hostilities between China and the Philippines have escalated in disputed waters, especially in the Second Thomas Shoal, which is less than 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the Philippine coast and where the BRP Sierra Madre, now covered in rust, was deliberately grounded in 1999 to create a regional post. The ship remains an actively deployed military vessel, meaning the attack could be considered an act of war by the Philippines.
Chinese personnel on board more than eight motor boats repeatedly rammed and boarded a Philippine navy rubber boat on Monday to prevent Philippine navy personnel from delivering food and other supplies including firearms to a Philippine territorial outpost at Second Thomas Shoal, which Beijing also claims , according to Philippine officials.
After repeated skirmishes and collisions, the Chinese seized the boats and destroyed them with machetes, knives and hammers. They also seized eight M4 rifles, packed in cases, navigation equipment and other supplies and injured several Philippine navy personnel, including one who lost his right thumb, two Philippine security officials told The Associated on Tuesday.
The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive conflict publicly.
Video and photos released by the Philippine military on Wednesday night showed chaotic faces on the shoal, with Chinese personnel onboard the boat brandishing knives, axes and sticks as they surrounded two Philippine navy supply vessels next to the Manila shipping post. Sirens blare constantly as both sides shout at each other and the Chinese smash a Philippine navy boat with a pole and take what appears to be a bag with sticks.
Pictures show a damaged Philippine navy boat with its side floaters slashed and deflated and another boat with a broken windshield and navigation screen. A man displays a broken cell phone.
“We demand that the Chinese return our guns and equipment and we also demand that they pay for the damage they have done,” Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., head of the Philippine armed forces, told a news conference in the west. Palawan Province, where he pinned a medal on a wounded naval officer.
“They boarded the boat illegally and seized our equipment,” Brawner said. “He’s like a pirate now by acting like that.”
Armed with long knives and machetes, Chinese coast guard personnel tried to subdue the unarmed Filipinos, who resisted using their bare hands by resisting punches and shoving the Chinese, Brawner said. “Our goal is also to prevent war.”
Some of the Chinese pointed knives at Philippine navy personnel, he said.
China blames it Philippines for confrontation, said Filipino personnel “trespassed” into the shoal in defiance of its danger.
“This is the direct cause of the incident,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in Beijing. “The Chinese coast guard on the scene has taken professional law enforcement measures with the aim of stopping the illegal supply mission by the Philippine ship and no direct action has been taken against the Philippine personnel.”
The United States renewed its warning Tuesday that it must defend the Philippines, a treaty ally.
The Second Thomas Shoal, part of the disputed Spratly Islands, has been occupied by a small Philippine navy contingent on warships that have been closely monitored by China’s coast guard and navy during years of territorial disputes. China claims the entire South China Sea.
There are fears that disputes in the South China Sea, long considered an Asian flashpoint, could escalate and plunge the United States and China into a bigger conflict. Apart from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have conflicting territorial claims on the busy waterway.
Since last year, hostilities between China and the Philippines have escalated in disputed waters, especially in the Second Thomas Shoal, which is less than 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the Philippine coast and where the BRP Sierra Madre, now covered in rust, was deliberately grounded in 1999 to create a regional post. The ship remains an actively deployed military vessel, meaning the attack could be considered an act of war by the Philippines.
