New clash between China and Philippines around the Scarborough Shoal, a disputed sandbank in the South China Sea. Beijing stated on Tuesday that its coast guard fired water cannons at Filipino boats that allegedly rammed into a Chinese vessel after an "illegal" intrusion into waters near Scarborough.
All summer long, Chinese and Filipino forces have been involved in several clashes, escalating underlying tensions. Encounters with water cannons, laser pointers, and minor ship collisions among coast guard vessels are common. However, none of these incidents have escalated into direct armed conflict so far.
As in previous occasions, Beijing and Manila have today accused each other of provocations. Gan Yu, a spokesperson for the Chinese coast guard, explained that 10 Filipino boats had "illegally invaded Chinese territorial waters near Scarborough from different directions."
Gan emphasized that one of these Filipino vessels had "ignored solemn warnings from the Chinese side and deliberately rammed a coast guard ship." Manila has denied the Chinese coast guard's accusation. A Filipino spokesperson stated, "This is another case of Chinese misinformation and propaganda."
This latest clash comes a week after Chinese authorities approved the establishment of a marine reserve on the disputed sandbank, a measure to increase Chinese coast guard patrols and justify the expulsion of vessels from other countries navigating near the area.
Scarborough is located over 800 kilometers from the nearest Chinese territory, Hainan province, and is known to Chinese authorities as Huangyan Island. It lies at the heart of one of the world's most important maritime routes and is close to the gateway to the Pacific, the Bashi Channel. In addition to being a rich fishing ground, it is a crucial geopolitical location, particularly significant for the US due to its proximity to Taiwan.
From Manila's perspective, their claims are part of a group of islands within the Filipino national territory, within their exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as the country has exercised continuous and effective sovereignty since the Spanish colonial era. However, specifically regarding Scarborough, it is the Chinese coast guard that has exercised jurisdictional control since 2012, following a clash between Chinese maritime militias and Filipino fishermen.
In 2016, the International Tribunal in The Hague ruled that the waters surrounding Scarborough were a common fishing area, a shared maritime space where coastal states must cooperate in both conservation and commercial exploitation. However, Beijing never accepted the court's ruling.
The Asian superpower drew an imaginary "nine-dash line" claiming around 80% of the total South China Sea waters, including this sandbank and many other islets and reefs controlled by other Southeast Asian neighbors.
"The Chinese Coast Guard, acting in accordance with the law, took control measures against multiple Filipino government vessels engaged in illegal activities within the territorial waters of Huangyan Island," Chinese authorities announced on Tuesday.
In August, during dangerous maneuvers around the sandbank, a Chinese Navy ship collided with another vessel from its own coast guard while pursuing a Filipino ship. A few days later, Beijing stated that its fleet had "monitored and expelled" the US destroyer USS Higgins as it sailed near those waters in the South China Sea.