Philippines says Chinese coast guards ‘acting like pirates’ in South China Sea

The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Philippines, General Romeo Brawner ticked off China over repeated confrontations between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea.

The Filipino military personnel stated that the Chinese coast guards are ‘Acting Like Pirates’, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday.

His comment came after the June 17 confrontation near Second Thomas Shoal during which Chinese coast guard attacked a Philippines marine vessel while it was resupplying sailors stationed on the Sierra Madre belonging to the island country.

Brawner said, “Personnel armed with knives and spears boarded their resupply vessels at Second Thomas Shoal in the latest confrontation in the disputed South China Sea. The Chinese Coast Guard personnel had bladed weapons and our personnel fought with bare hands. We were outnumbered and their weapons were unexpected but our personnel fought with everything that they had.”

He shared a post on Facebook on Wednesday, additionally claiming that one of the Filipino sailors was injured badly and a boat was also damaged.

“Only pirates do this,” he said, adding, “Only pirates board, steal, and destroy ships, equipment, and belongings.”

Recently, the Second Thomas Shoal has witnessed several confrontations between Manila and Beijing.

The Shoal Reef falls in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) about 195km (121 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan.

As China in the past has made repeated attempts to stop resupply missions going towards the location.

However, China has denied all such allegations about Chinese personnel’s attack, Al Jazeera reported.

Lin Jian, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday while commenting on the recent incident stated, “The law enforcement action taken by China Coast Guard on the scene was professional and restrained.”

He also claimed that the Chinese coast guard was trying to stop a resupply mission that was ‘illegal’, and accused the island country of sending construction material arms and ammunition to the reef.

“China urges the Philippines to stop its infringement and provocation at once,” Lin said.

Notably, the incidents of confrontations in the South China Sea have been continuing despite an international tribunal ruling its claim to have “no legal basis” in 2016.

As China has made expansionist claims over almost the entire South China Sea claiming it to be under the Nine-Dash Line. The same news report also claimed that the country has also build artificial islands and military outposts near the reef.