Philippines says Chinese coast guard ‘acting like pirates’ in South China Sea

Philippine Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Broner has slammed China over the repeated confrontations between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea.

Philippine military personnel said the Chinese coast guard were “acting like pirates”, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday.

his/her remarks came after the June 17 clash near Second Thomas Shoal, in which the Chinese coast guard attacked a Philippine naval vessel while it was delivering relief supplies to sailors stationed on the island nation’s Sierra Madre.

“In the latest clash in the disputed South China Sea, personnel armed with knives and spears boarded their supply vessels at Second Thomas Shoal. The Chinese Coast Guard personnel had sharp weapons and our personnel fought with bare hands. We were outnumbered and had an unexpected amount of weapons, but our personnel fought back with all their might,” Bronner said.

he/she shared a post on Facebook on Wednesday, also claiming that a Filipino sailor was seriously injured and a boat was damaged.

General Romeo S. Broner Jr., Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, confirmed that troops engaged in a Rotation and Resupply (RORE) mission aboard the BRP Sierra Madre (LS57) at Ayungin Shoal on June 17 responded strongly despite harassment by the Chinese Coast Guard.… pic.twitter.com/ctZavwALaG

— Armed Forces of the Philippines (@TeamAFP) June 20, 2024

“Only pirates do that,” he/she said, adding, “Only pirates board ships, steal and destroy equipment and goods.”

Recently, there have been several confrontations between Manila and Beijing at the Second Thomas Shoal.

The shoal reef falls within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), about 195 km (121 mi) off the western Philippines island of Palawan.

China has made repeated attempts in the past to stop resupply missions headed to that location.

However, according to Al Jazeera report, China has denied all such allegations of attacks on Chinese personnel.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian commented on the recent incident on Wednesday, saying, “The law enforcement actions taken by the China Coast Guard at the scene were professional and restrained.”

They also claimed the Chinese coast guard was attempting to prevent a resupply mission which was “illegal”, and accused the island nation of sending construction materials, weapons and ammunition to the reef.

“China urges the Philippines to immediately stop its violations and provocations,” Lin said.

It is noteworthy that incidents of confrontation have continued in the South China Sea even after an international tribunal in 2016 declared its claim to have “no legal basis”.

China has made expansionist claims to almost the entire South China Sea, claiming that it falls within the Nine-Dash Line. The same news report also claimed that the country has also built artificial islands and military outposts near the reef.