China damages two Philippine vessels in latest harassment in Ayungin; injures four crew 

A collision between MRRV-4407 and China Coast Guard 21555 caused a minor structural damage on the Philippine Coast Guard vessel At Ayungin Shoal on March 5, 2024. Photo from Philippine Coast Guard. 

By Manuel Mogato | Date 03-07-2024

MANILA — Four crew members were slightly injured, and two vessels sustained minor damages after Chinese Coast Guard ships blocked, rammed, and water cannoned Philippine vessels bringing supplies to a grounded naval transported in disputed waters in the South China Sea.

Philippine authorities said four men aboard a civilian supply boat, Unaizah Mae 4, an indigenous watercraft, were given first aid after glass shards hit them when the boat’s windshield broke from being blasted by high-pressured water from water cannons.

Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos, commander of the Armed Forces Western Command, who was on the same boat, was not hurt.

Escorted by a Philippine Coast Guard vessel, Unaizah Mae 4 was forced to return to Palawan after the incident.

On Tuesday morning, another supply boat, Unaizah Mae 1, safely reached BRP Sierra Madre to deliver food, water, and other supplies.

Philippine authorities condemned China’s latest harassment of its vessels near Second Thomas Shoal, locally known as Ayungin Shoal.

“China’s latest unprovoked acts of coercion and dangerous maneuvers against a legitimate and routine rotation and resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal have put the lives of our people at risk and caused actual injury to Filipinos on board Unaizah Mae 4,” said the National Task Force on West Philippine Sea in a press statement.

“The systematic and consistent manner in which the People’s Republic of China carries out these illegal and irresponsible actions put into question the sincerity of its calls for peaceful dialogue and lessening tensions.”

At the foreign ministry in Manila, officials summoned China’s deputy chief of mission “to convey the Philippines’ protest against the aggressive actions undertaken by the China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia against the rotation and resupply mission undertaken by the Philippines in Ayungin Shoal.”

During the meeting, the foreign ministry said China’s interference with the Philippines’ routine and lawful activities in its exclusive economic zone “is unacceptable.”

“China’s actions in Ayungin Shoal infringe upon the Philippines’ sovereign rights and jurisdiction,” it said, adding it demanded that Chinese vessels leave Ayungin Shoal immediately.

The Philippines has filed nine diplomatic protests this year and 142 similar actions last year as China continued to harass, block, ram, and blast with water cannons on its vessels in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

The Philippines said Ayungin Shoal is a low-tide elevation within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

Under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the binding 2016 Arbitral Award, the foreign ministry said the Philippines exercises sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the feature.

China’s latest harassment of Philippine vessels drew an immediate reaction from its allies, like the United States, Australia, Japan, and the European Union.

The US ambassador to Manila, MaryKay Carlson, said China’s dangerous maneuvers “endangered lives, resulted in injuries, and damaged Philippine Coast Guard vessels in the Philippine exclusive economic zone.”

She posted on X that “the United States stands with the Philippines and proponents of international law in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Australian Ambassador to Manila, Hae Kyong Yu, said his government shared similar concerns about China’s dangerous actions in the West Philippine Sea.

“We call for restraint and respect for international law, particularly UNCLOS,” he said.

The Japanese embassy also stated: “Japan will continue to stand with the Philippines and cooperate with like-minded countries to maintain the peace and stability in the region.”

For its part, China defended its actions, protesting “illegal trespassing” on Ayungin Shoal, which it called Ren’ai Jiao Shoal.

“The Philippines has once again reneged on its commitments to China, provoked incidents in the waters off the Ren’ai Jiao, and seriously violated China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” the Chinese embassy said, adding that China and the Philippines have maintained communication on properly managing the situation on the Ren’ai Jiao.“

It said China’s Coast Guard took necessary regulatory actions under the law on the Philippine vessels. “The response of China Coast Guard was professional, restrained, reasonable and lawful,” it added.