The Philippines on Monday accused a Chinese coast guard ship of hitting a Philippine coast guard vessel with a military-grade laser and temporarily blinding a few of its crew within the disputed South China Sea, calling it a “blatant” violation of Manila’s sovereign rights.
The Chinese ship also maneuvered dangerously close, about 449 feet, to dam the Philippine patrol vessel BRP Malapascua from approaching Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef that has been occupied by Philippine forces, on Feb. 6, the Philippine coast guard said in an announcement.
The Philippines has filed nearly 200 diplomatic protests against China’s aggressive actions within the disputed waters in 2022 alone.
China claims the South China Sea virtually in its entirety, putting it on a collision course with other claimants. Despite friendly overtures to Beijing by former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in January in Beijing, tensions have persevered, drawing in closer military alliance between the Philippines and the US.
Although the Chinese coast guard had tried to dam Philippine coast guard ships within the disputed waters before, this was the primary time it used lasers and caused physical suffering amongst Filipino personnel, Philippine coast guard spokesperson Commodore Armand Balilo told The Associated Press.
There was no immediate comment from the Chinese Embassy in Manila.
“The Chinese ship illuminated the green laser light twice toward the BRP Malapascua, causing temporary blindness to her crew on the bridge,” the Philippine statement said.
The Philippine vessel was forced to maneuver away from the realm, where it was escorting a supply vessel that was delivering food and sailors to a Philippine navy sentry ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, which has been marooned on Second Thomas Shoal since 1999, the coast guard said.
“The deliberate blocking of the Philippine government ships to deliver food and supplies to our military personnel on board the BRP Sierra Madre is a blatant disregard for, and a transparent violation of, Philippine sovereign rights on this a part of the West Philippine Sea,” the coast guard said, using the name the Philippines has adopted for the stretch of waters near its western coast.
It was not immediately clear if the Philippine resupply mission pushed through despite the incident.
The Chinese coast guard also blocked Philippine ships escorting a supply vessel from approaching Second Thomas Shoal in August, the coast guard said. On the time, one in all the 2 Chinese ships that were joined by two Chinese civilian vessels removed the quilt of its 70mm armament, the coast guard said, adding it could not be deterred by China’s aggression in protecting Philippine sovereignty within the disputed sea.
Other than China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei even have overlapping claims within the resource-rich and busy waterway, where a bulk of the world’s commerce and oil transits.
America lays no claims to the disputed sea but has deployed forces to patrol the waters to advertise freedom of navigation and overflight — moves which have angered Beijing, which has warned Washington to stop meddling in what it says is a purely Asian dispute.
The US Navy and Marine Corps held joint exercises within the South China Sea over the weekend at a time of heightened tensions with Beijing over the shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon. The US has been taking steps to rebuild its military might within the Philippines greater than 30 years after the closure of its large bases within the country and reinforcing an arc of military alliances in Asia.
