CHINESE SHIPS WATER CANNONS ANEW 2 PH VESSELS AT SCARBOROUGH

CHINA Coast Guard (CCG) once again fired water cannons against Philippine vessels conducting a mission in the Scarborough Shoal Tuesday morning.

The Philippine vessels were delivering supplies to Filipino fishermen in Bajo de Masinloc when the incident happened.

It was the latest in a series of aggressive actions by China in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela said the PCG’s BRP Bagacay and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ (BFAR) vessel BRP Datu Bankaw were hit by the water cannons.

Tarriela said the Philippine vessels encountered dangerous maneuvers and obstruction  from four CCG ships and six Chinese maritime militia boats.

According to Tarriela, a CCG vessel used its water cannon at around 9:53 a.m.,, directly hitting the starboard astern of BRP Bankaw, when the BFAR vessel was about 12 nautical miles from Bajo de Masinloc also known as Scarborough Shoal. 

When BRP Bagacay was located around 1,000 yards east southeast of Bajo de Masinloc, two CCG vessels deployed their jet stream water cannons, simultaneously targeting the PCG vessel from both sides.

The starboard astern of the BRP Datu Bankaw was  destroyed while BRP Bagacay sustained damage on its railing and canopy,  according to Tarriela.

“This damage serves as evidence of the forceful water pressure used by the China Coast Guard in their harassment of the Philippine vessels,” Tarriela said in a statement.

He added that  the CCG re-installed a 380-meter floating barrier at the entrance of Bajo de Masinloc, restricting access to the area. 

Despite the harassment,  Tarriela said the Philippine vessels stood their ground and continued their patrol.