<p>According to President Ferdinand Marcos, the China Coast Guard halted and water cannoned Philippine boats on Monday in the disputed South China Sea, prompting Manila to call Beijing’s representative. The incident occurred on Saturday when the Philippine Coast Guard escorted charter boats delivering supplies for Filipino military forces stationed at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, including food, water, gasoline, and other necessities.<img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-116497″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/theindiaprint.com-iit-delhi-signs-mou-with-education-department-of-abu-dhabi-to-establish-international-campus-chinese-coast-guard-vessel-750×422.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com iit delhi signs mou with education department of abu dhabi to establish international campus chinese coast guard vessel” width=”1480″ height=”833″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/theindiaprint.com-iit-delhi-signs-mou-with-education-department-of-abu-dhabi-to-establish-international-campus-chinese-coast-guard-vessel-750×422.jpg 750w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/theindiaprint.com-iit-delhi-signs-mou-with-education-department-of-abu-dhabi-to-establish-international-campus-chinese-coast-guard-vessel-768×432.jpg 768w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/theindiaprint.com-iit-delhi-signs-mou-with-education-department-of-abu-dhabi-to-establish-international-campus-chinese-coast-guard-vessel-390×220.jpg 390w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/theindiaprint.com-iit-delhi-signs-mou-with-education-department-of-abu-dhabi-to-establish-international-campus-chinese-coast-guard-vessel-150×84.jpg 150w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/theindiaprint.com-iit-delhi-signs-mou-with-education-department-of-abu-dhabi-to-establish-international-campus-chinese-coast-guard-vessel.jpg 800w” sizes=”(max-width: 1480px) 100vw, 1480px” title=”Over the water cannoning of Philippine boats, a Chinese envoy was summoned 3″></p>
<p>Beijing has disregarded a 2016 decision from an international court finding that its claim to practically all of the South China Sea, through which billions of dollars in commerce flow every year, has legal standing. The Chinese Coast Guard has been charged with violating international law by obstructing and firing water cannon at the resupply operation, which stopped one of the charter boats from reaching the shoal, according to the Philippine military and coast guard.</p>
<p>Chinese officials said they had implemented “necessary controls” against Philippine vessels that had “illegally” entered their territorial seas. In a statement to reporters, Marcos said, “Our Secretary of Foreign Affairs summoned Ambassador Huang today and gave him a note verbale including pictures, video, and what happened. We are awaiting their reply.”</p>
<p>China’s stance is that “this is ours, so we are defending it,” whereas our perspective is that “we own it, so we are defending it.” We are talking about a grey area because of that.</p>
<p>The Chinese operations were denounced by the US State Department on Sunday, with the claim that they were carried out by the coast guard and “maritime militia” and directly endangered regional peace and stability.</p>
<p>The European Union, Britain, Australia, and Canada all criticized Beijing’s moves. Second Thomas Shoal is more than 1,000 kilometers (124 miles) away from China’s closest major landmass, Hainan Island, and approximately 200 kilometers (124 miles) away from the Philippine island of Palawan.</p>
<p>According to Manila, Chinese coast guard and naval warships often obstruct or follow Philippine ships patrolling the disputed seas. The Chinese coast guard had not fired water cannon against a Philippine resupply operation to Second Thomas Shoal since November 2021, but that changed on Saturday.</p>
<p>The South China Sea has long been the subject of maritime disputes between Beijing and Manila. Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, was hesitant to criticize his more powerful neighbor because he wanted to forge better connections with Beijing in order to entice foreign investment.</p>
<p>Since taking over from Duterte, Marcos has been certain that he would not allow China to infringe on his nation’s maritime sovereignty. He has leaned toward America in an effort to deepen defense relations with the country’s old ally and former colonial overlord in the Philippines.</p>
