BEIJING: China’s Coast Guard fired water cannon on Tuesday at Philippine ships near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, accusing Manila of an “illegal” intrusion and the ramming of one of its vessels.
The confrontation comes a week after China approved plans to turn the shoal into a national nature reserve, a move that defense analysts have warned would test Manila’s response over the 150 square-kilometer triangular chain of reefs and rocks.
Simmering tension over the shoal has led to diplomatic rows in recent years, but no incidents have escalated into armed conflict at the site.
Both sides accuse each other of provocations and trespassing in incidents featuring use of water cannon, boat-ramming and maneuvers by China’s Coast Guard the Philippines regards as dangerously close, as well as jets shadowing Philippine aircraft there.
Tuesday’s encounter involved more than 10 Philippine ships, said Gan Yu, a spokesperson for China’s Coast Guard, accusing the vessels of having “illegally invaded China’s territorial waters of the Scarborough Shoal from different directions.”
