News Desk
Manila has claimed that China harmed Filipino workers and caused harm to Philippine ships in a recent incident in the South China Sea. This has added to the existing tensions surrounding territorial disagreements in this valuable and strategically significant area.
Both the Philippines and China have accused each other of being responsible for the clash that occurred on Monday near Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed Spratly Islands. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs released a statement on Wednesday, marking the first official acknowledgment from either side that injuries and damage occurred.
The statement condemned the actions of Chinese authorities, labelling them as illegal and aggressive, resulting in injuries to personnel and damage to vessels.
Although the exact number of sailors injured and the extent of their injuries were not specified, reports indicate that at least eight Filipinos were hurt in the incident, with one sailor reportedly losing a thumb.
CNN has contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine Coast Guard for their input. The Chinese state-controlled newspaper Global Times released images of the event on the internet on Wednesday. These photos depicted a Philippine rigid-hulled inflatable boat caught between a sizeable China Coast Guard vessel and a minimum of three other Chinese boats.
When questioned about the incident during a press briefing on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated that the actions taken by the Chinese Coast Guard were professional and controlled. Their aim was to prevent illegal fishing by Philippine ships, and no direct actions were taken against Filipino personnel.
The clash on Monday is the most recent in a series of conflicts between Chinese and Philippine vessels, raising concerns about the South China Sea potentially becoming a trigger point for global conflict. This incident occurred shortly after Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. cautioned that any harm to a Filipino citizen by another country in the region would be considered a severe situation.
Marcos has been working towards strengthening relations with the US, which has emphasized its unwavering commitment to a mutual defense treaty from 1951 between the US and the Philippines. This treaty states that both nations would assist each other in case of an attack by a third party.
China asserts its “indisputable sovereignty” over most of the South China Sea, including numerous islands and sandbars, even those far from its mainland. Several governments, including the Philippines, have conflicting claims in the region.
In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines in a landmark maritime dispute, stating that China has no legal basis for claiming historic rights to the majority of the South China Sea. Despite this ruling, Beijing has disregarded it and has been escalating its maritime territorial claims. Chinese Coast Guard ships, along with militia boats, have been involved in multiple clashes over the past year, resulting in damage to Philippine vessels and injuries to Filipino sailors from water cannon.
Second Thomas Shoal, also known as Ayungin Shoal in the Philippines and Ren’ai Jiao in China, is a submerged teardrop-shaped reef located around 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the Philippine island of Palawan.
