China’s Coast Guard unleashed water cannons on Philippine government ships and alleged a deliberate ramming on Tuesday, marking a volatile new chapter in the South China Sea dispute. The fierce encounter near the contested Scarborough Shoal involved over ten Philippine vessels and has drawn sharp international condemnation of Beijing’s aggressive tactics.
According to a statement from Beijing, a Philippine vessel intentionally collided with a Chinese ship in a “provocative and egregious” act. The Chinese Coast Guard claims its use of water cannons was a justified response to the Philippine flotilla’s approach to the shoal, a territory both nations claim as their own. The Philippines has yet to issue its official response to the collision allegation.
The incident is dangerously timed, following China’s declaration less than a week ago that it was designating part of the shoal as a national nature reserve. This was widely seen as a ploy to assert sovereignty under an environmental guise. The Philippine government had already signaled its intent to file a diplomatic protest against this move, which it considers an infringement on its territory, known locally as Bajo de Masinloc.
Scarborough Shoal has long been a flashpoint for conflict, emblematic of the broader struggle for control over the South China Sea. The waterway is a crucial commercial channel and home to rich fishing grounds, making the overlapping territorial claims of China, the Philippines, and others a constant source of regional tension.
The international response has been swift and critical of China. A prominent American lawmaker condemned Beijing’s “coercive” efforts to enforce its claims. Concerns were also publicly stated by the United Kingdom and Australia. In a direct rebuke of China’s strategy, Canada’s embassy in the Philippines stated its opposition to using environmental protection as a pretext for territorial control.