Chinese coast guard rams and damages a Philippine vessel off an island in the South China Sea

MANILA, Philippines (AP) – A Chinese coast guard ship used a powerful water cannon on Sunday then rammed and slightly damaged an anchored Philippine government vessel off an island inhabited by Filipinos in the disputed South China Sea, the Philippine coast guard said.

There were no injuries among Filipino crewmen of the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, part of the fisheries fleet that provides support to Filipino fishermen. The Chinese coast guard targeted Pagbuaya off the Philippines-occupied Thitu island in the latest flare-up of the long-simmering territorial disputes involving Manila, Beijing and four other governments.

The Chinese coast guard accused the Philippine vessels of illegally entering what it called Chinese waters near a cluster of sandbars known as Sandy Cay, which lies between Thitu and China’s artificial island base called Subi and “ignoring repeated stern warnings from the Chinese side.” It said it “took control measures against the Philippine vessels in accordance with the law and resolutely drove them away.”

China has repeatedly restated its sovereignty and control over virtually the entire South China Sea, a major trade route, despite a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated its historic claims. That ruling has been rejected by China but supported by the United States and its Western and Asian allies, including Japan, Australia, the European Union and Canada.

The U.S. immediately condemned “China’s aggressive actions in defiance of international law” and expressed support for the Philippines, a close Asian treaty ally. U.S. Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson praised the Filipino personnel involved in the incident for their “tremendous valor and skill in the face of China’s dangerous ramming and use of water cannons.”

Pagbuaya and two other Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessels were anchored in the territorial waters off Thitu, called Pag-asa by the Philippines, when Chinese coast guard and suspected militia ships suddenly approached and staged “dangerous and provocative maneuvers,” the Philippine coast guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a statement. He added that such aggression would not prompt Manila to “surrender a square inch of our territory to any foreign power.”

A Chinese coast guard ship with bow number 21559 “fired its water cannon directly at the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, hitting the vessel,” then rammed the stern of the Philippine fisheries vessel three minutes later, causing “minor structural damage but no injuries to the crew.”

Video issued by the Philippine coast guard shows a Chinese coast guard ship firing a water cannon, hitting the vessel and its two Philippine flags. The Filipino-manned ship is seen moving away from the Chinese coast guard ship.

“Despite these bullying tactics and aggressive actions, the Philippine coast guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources remain resolute,” Tarriela said. “We will not be intimidated or driven away.”

In Beijing, Chinese coast guard spokesperson Liu Dejun said in a statement the two Philippine vessels illegally entered waters near Sandy Cay, which China calls Tiexian Reef, “without the permission of the Chinese government.” One dangerously approached the Chinese Coast Guard vessel, causing a scrape, he said.

The responsibility rests entirely with the Philippine side, Liu said, accusing the Philippines of undermining the peace and stability in the South China Sea and “sternly warned” the Southeast Asian country “to immediately stop infringement and harassment.”

“The harassment we faced today only strengthens our resolve,” Philippine coast guard commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan said. “Filipino fisherfolk depend on these waters and neither water cannons nor ramming will deter us from fulfilling our commitment to Pres. Ferdinand Marcos to not surrender a square inch of our territory to any foreign power.”

Thitu is the largest of nine islands, islets and reefs inhabited by Philippine forces and also has a fishing community in the Spratlys archipelago, the most fiercely disputed region of the South China Sea, where China turned seven barren reefs into island bases protected by a missile system. Three of the artificial islands have runways, including Subi, which lies just more than 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Thitu, which China also claims.

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Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to this report.