Philippines protests China's use of water cannons at disputed shoal
The Philippines on Tuesday protested China's firing of water cannons to drive away Filipino fishermen from a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.
The Foreign Affairs Department summoned the Chinese embassy's charge d'affaires "to strongly protest the efforts of China to prohibit Filipino fishermen from undertaking fishing activities" at Scarborough Shoal, said spokesman Raul Hernandez.
"Our fishermen have every right to pursue their livelihood in Bajo de Mansinloc, which is an integral part of Philippine territory," he said, referring to the shoal's local name.
Hernandez said a Chinese coast guard vessel doused (two Filipino) fishing vessels with water cannons for several minutes on January 27 at Scarborough, the site of a standoff between government ships in 2012.
While the fishermen were unharmed, the incident "escalates the tension in the area and threatens peace and stability in the region," he added. Scarborough Shoal lies 230 kilometres west of the Philippine province of Zambales and around 600 kilometres south-east of the Chinese coast.
It was the site of a standoff between Chinese and Philippine government vessels in April 2012, which prompted the Philippines to file an arbitration case against China before the United Nations. Chinese vessels have been present in the area since the standoff.
The case questions China's nine-dash line to mark its territorial claims in the South China Sea. Other countries with overlapping claims to the South China Sea are Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
- Sapa