NextFin news, China's coast guard took control measures against several Philippine vessels on Tuesday near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, according to official Chinese statements. The Chinese coast guard accused the Philippine ships of illegally entering what Beijing claims as its territorial waters around the shoal and deliberately ramming a Chinese coast guard vessel.
The incident involved more than 10 Philippine government ships approaching the shoal from various directions. In response, the Chinese coast guard deployed verbal warnings, route restrictions, and water cannon spraying to control the Philippine vessels, as stated by Gan Yu, spokesperson for China's coast guard.
The Scarborough Shoal, known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines, is a 150-square-kilometer chain of reefs and rocks located about 200 kilometers off the Philippine coast, within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. Both countries claim sovereignty over the shoal, which is rich in fishing resources and strategically important.
This confrontation occurred shortly after China announced plans to designate part of the Scarborough Shoal as a national nature reserve, a move condemned by the Philippines and several other countries. The Philippine government has filed a diplomatic protest against this designation.
The Philippine Maritime Council dismissed China's accusations, calling them "another case of Chinese disinformation and propaganda," and denied the claims of illegal intrusion and ramming.
The South China Sea dispute involves multiple countries with overlapping claims, including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and China. China claims nearly the entire sea, a claim rejected by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2016, a ruling Beijing has refused to recognize.
The United States, Great Britain, Australia, and Canada have expressed concern over China's recent actions and the establishment of the nature reserve, viewing it as a coercive move to assert territorial claims at the expense of neighboring countries.
The incident on Tuesday marks another episode in the ongoing maritime tensions in the South China Sea, where encounters between Chinese and Philippine vessels have frequently involved water cannon use, ramming, and other confrontational tactics, though none have escalated into armed conflict.
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