Task force says Chinese vessels rammed, fired water cannons on BFAR ship in West Philippine Sea
The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said on Sunday that eight Chinese maritime ships performed '' aggressive and dangerous maneuvers'' on a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) patrolling from Hasa-Hasa Shoal to Escoda Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.
''Multiple China Coast Guard ships'' and the People's Liberation Army Navy vessel targeted the BRP Datu Sanday, which was going to resupply Filipino fishermen with diesel, food and medical services, the task force statement said.
The Chinese Coast Guard ships ''made perilous maneuvers that resulted in ramming, blasted horns and deployed water cannons against the BFAR vessel, eventually leading to the latter's engine failure,'' the task force said.
China Maritime Militia Vessel, with bow number 00226, ''actively participated in blocking BFAR vessel Datu Sanday and performed dangerous maneuvers,'' the task force said.
The ''humanitarian mission'' was terminated early, the task force said.
This was the third incident this week involving BFAR planes and ships in the West Philippine Sea.
On August 22, the task force said China launched flares from their militarized reclaimed island in Zamora Reef towards a BFAR plane which was conducting a patrol.
On August 19, the same BFAR plane was harassed by the People's Liberation Army Air Force during a maritime domain awareness flight at Bajo de Masinloc.
The BFAR ship without permission of the Chinese government, illegally intruded into the waters near Xianbin Jiao (Sabina Shoal) near China's Nansha Qundao (Spratly Islands) and ''caused a minor collision with a China Coast Guard ship,'' said Xinhua News Agency.
''At 2:12 p.m., the Philippine vessel ignored repeated warnings from the Chinese side and deliberately sailed toward the Chinese ship in an unprofessional and dangerous manner, causing the collision, said CCG spokesperson Gan Yu, Xinhua said.
"We sternly warn that the Philippine side must immediately stop the infringement and provocation, or it must bear all the consequences," Gan said, according to Xinhua.
The task force also rejected reports that Filipino personnel fell overboard and were rescued by the China Coast Guard.
“This fake news and misinformation serves as a clear illustration of the PRC's (People's Republic of China) willingness to distort the truth and engage in disinformation to bolster its public Image,” it said.
The Philippines reiterated its call to China to “halt these provocative actions that destabilize regional peace and security” and that it will continue to assert its rights based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
