Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro condemned what he described as “dangerous” and “inhumane” actions by Chinese maritime forces against Filipino fishermen near Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea last week. The incident left three Filipino fishermen injured and damaged two fishing vessels after Chinese coast guard ships used water cannons and cut their anchor lines on Friday, Manila’s coast guard reported.
Teodoro said, “Water cannoning, aggressive manoeuvring, and the cutting of anchor lines resulting in physical injuries of Filipino civilians are wholly inconsistent with the duty of all States to ensure the safety of human lives.” He also rejected China’s claims that the fishermen had threatened the coast guard with knives, calling them “blatant lies.”
China’s foreign ministry defended the actions, saying they were necessary to protect its territorial sovereignty and described them as “reasonable, lawful, professional, and restrained.”
The Philippine foreign ministry has issued a formal reprimand, or demarche, to the Chinese Embassy in Manila. Sabina Shoal—called Xianbin Reef by China and Escoda Shoal by the Philippines—lies 150 km west of Palawan, within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, which supports over $3 trillion in annual trade, overlapping the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. In 2016, an international tribunal ruled China’s claims had no legal basis, a decision Beijing rejects.
