China fires water cannon at Philippine ships near Scarborough Shoal
China’s Coast Guard fired water cannon on Tuesday at more than 10 Philippine vessels near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, accusing Manila of “illegal” intrusion and alleging that one of its ships rammed a Chinese vessel.
The confrontation comes just a week after Beijing approved plans to designate the shoal as a national nature reserve, a move analysts say is intended to strengthen its claim over the 150-sq-km atoll that lies inside the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
China’s Coast Guard spokesperson Gan Yu accused the Philippine ships of approaching “from different directions” and entering what Beijing calls its territorial waters. He specifically blamed Philippine Coast Guard vessel 3014 for “deliberately ramming” a Chinese vessel despite repeated warnings.
Gan said Chinese forces “lawfully implemented control measures,” which included verbal warnings, route restrictions, and water cannon use.
The Philippine Maritime Council dismissed the claims, calling them “another case of Chinese disinformation and propaganda,” and insisted there was “no truth” to Beijing’s account.
The shoal, known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines, has long been a flashpoint in the South China Sea, where encounters often involve water cannon blasts, ramming incidents, and dangerous manoeuvres. Although tensions have flared repeatedly, no clashes at the site have escalated into armed conflict.
The dispute goes beyond Scarborough Shoal, forming part of a broader contest over sovereignty and fishing rights in the South China Sea, a vital waterway for more than $3 trillion in annual trade.
China claims nearly the entire sea, overlapping with the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China’s expansive claims had no legal basis – a decision Beijing has rejected.
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