South China Sea: Beijing warns Philippines against ‘escalating situation’ after latest Second Thomas Shoal face-off

Fresh warning comes after Manila accuses Chinese coastguard of blocking a supply boat off disputed shoal and damaging it with water cannons

The Philippines is ‘entirely’ to blame, China says, vowing never to ‘sit idly by and ignore’ attempts by rival claimant to reinforce position

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Frame grab from aerial video footage taken by the Philippine military shows Chinese coastguard ships deploying water cannon against a Philippine boat near the Second Thomas Shoal. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:00pm, 24 Mar 2024

Beijing on Sunday warned Manila to stop provocations and not to “escalate the situation” after the latest encounter between the Chinese coastguard and a Philippine supply vessel near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

The fresh warnings from China’s defence ministry came after the Philippines accused its coastguard of blocking a supply boat off the Second Thomas Shoal and firing water cannons at it.

The hour-long incident on Saturday injured members of crew and caused “significant damage” to the vessel, the Philippine coastguard said.

The Philippine military also released footage of a white ship repeatedly dousing another vessel sailing alongside it with a water cannon. One clip showed two white ships simultaneously firing water at the same vessel.

Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian said China sternly warned the Philippines “to stop making any remarks that may intensify conflicts and escalate the situation, and stop all infringement and provocations”.