China Coast Guard ships blasted a Filipino vessel with water cannon and engaged another in a dangerous maneuver near Panatag Shoal yesterday morning.
China Coast Guard ships blasted a Filipino vessel with water cannon and engaged another in a dangerous maneuver in the vicinity of Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc yesterday morning, the Philippine Coast Guard reported.
Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesman for West Philippine Sea issue, said that at 6:29 a.m., a CCG ship with bow number 5302 blasted with water BRP Datu Dumangsil for two minutes, “scoring an indirect hit.” Nearby, another CCG ship harassed BRP Datu Paiburong and came menacingly close or approximately 500 meters to its bow, according to Tarriela.
The Datu Dumangsil and Datu Paiburong were among eight Filipino vessels sent to Panatag Shoal by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to deliver fuel to fishermen as part of the “Kadiwa ng Bagong Bayaning Mangingisda” program. There were nine Chinese vessels in the area.
“These actions violated the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea and endangered Filipino personnel engaged in a purely humanitarian undertaking,” Tarriela said. There were no reports of injuries in the incident.