'Illegal and blatant violations' - Philippine Coast Guard slams 'dangerous manoeuvres' by CCG amid ramming incident in South China Sea

'Illegal and blatant violations' - Philippine Coast Guard slams 'dangerous manoeuvres' by CCG amid ramming incident in South China Sea

"The Philippine Coast Guard accused China's Coast Guard of 'harassment' and 'bullying' after a ramming incident in the disputed South China Sea, where Chinese vessels used high-powered water cannons against a Filipino government ship. "The aggression of the Chinese Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime militia is very near Pagasa Cays, but this time around, this is the closest that the Chinese Coast Guard has harassed and bullied BFAR vessels," stated Commander Jay Tarriela, Spokesperson for the Philippine Coast Guard. Footage released by the PCG shows the vessels colliding and water cannons being deployed in a separate incident. Tarriela described the incidents as 'very concerning', claiming they endanger the lives of both fishermen and Coast Guard personnel. "The Chinese maritime militia and Chinese Coast Guard are taking orders from the Chinese Coast Guard when it comes to the dangerous manoeuvres, blocking, and even threatening ordinary Filipino fishermen," said Tarriela. "We are dealing with the lives of the crew of the BFAR or even the Philippine Coast Guard personnel. We always take the illegal and blatant violation of the People’s Republic of China seriously," he added. On Sunday, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel slammed into the anchored BRP Datu Pagbuaya near Pagasa Island. Less than 3 kilometres away, two other Filipino fisheries vessels were targeted with water cannons. The CCG accused the Filipino fishing vessels of illegally entering what it claims are its territorial waters. No injuries were reported among crew members in either incident. Following the incident, Beijing released a statement, saying that the Philippine vessels 'illegally entered' what it considers Chinese waters near Sandy Cay. China Coast Guard spokesperson Liu Dejun added that the Philippine vessel 'ignored repeated stern warnings' from the Chinese side and 'dangerously approached' the ship, resulting in the collision. The Chinese Foreign Ministry urged Manila to 'immediately stop violations and provocations.'"