CHINESE ENVOY SUMMONED OVER LATEST WATER CANNON ATTACK

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday summoned a senior Chinese envoy to protest a water cannon attack that damaged two Philippine vessels during a patrol at the South China Sea.

“The Philippines protested the harassment, ramming, swarming, shadowing and blocking, dangerous manoeuvres, use of water cannons and other aggressive actions of China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia vessels against  Filipino government vessels,  the DFA said in a statement.

Zhou Zhiyong, the number two official at the Chinese embassy, was summoned by Manila over the incident.

“China’s aggressive actions, particularly its water cannon use, caused damage to the Philippines’ vessels,” the DFA added, demanding that the Chinese boats immediately leave the shoal and its vicinity.

A Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship and a vessel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) were damaged when Chinese coast guard vessels fired water cannons at them while on their way to the disputed Scarborough Shoal to help Filipino fishermen on April 30.

Manila and Beijing have a long history of territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and the neighbors have been involved in several maritime incidents in recent months as they assert their rival claims in the strategic waterway.

The DFA said last Thursday’s diplomatic protest was the 20th lodged by Manila this year, and the 153rd since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. came to power in mid-2022.