Philippines accuses China of attacking fishermen with water cannon
- 9 years ago
Originally published on February 25, 2014
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The Philippines accused China on Monday (February 24) of having used water cannons last month on Filipino fishermen to drive them out of disputed waters in the South China Sea.
On January 27, Filipino fishermen were fishing off Scarborough Shoal, also known in the Philippines as Panatag Shoal, in the West Philippine Sea, in an area that both the Philippines and China claim as part of their exclusive economic zones.
The Chinese coast guard approached the fishermen and sprayed a water cannon on the vessel to drive it out of the area.
Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said the incident threatened freedom of navigation in the region.
"Where does weakness lie? Does it lie on our fishermen or the Chinese coast guard firing water cannons at us?" he was quoted by the Philippine Star as saying. "It lies with the Chinese coast guard."
"They [the fishermen] are just doing their livelihood. Why shoot them like that? Why do you we have to assert yourself that way?" he said.
Since the start of the year, Beijing has required foreign fishing boats to seek approval before entering waters that China claims as its own.
According to Reuters, China claims about 90 percent of the South China Sea's 3.5 million sq km (1.35 million sq mile) waters. Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam also claim parts of the sea.
Scarborough Shoal lies 220 km off the main Philippines island of Luzon. It is about 650 km from Hainan, the nearest major Chinese land mass.
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The Philippines accused China on Monday (February 24) of having used water cannons last month on Filipino fishermen to drive them out of disputed waters in the South China Sea.
On January 27, Filipino fishermen were fishing off Scarborough Shoal, also known in the Philippines as Panatag Shoal, in the West Philippine Sea, in an area that both the Philippines and China claim as part of their exclusive economic zones.
The Chinese coast guard approached the fishermen and sprayed a water cannon on the vessel to drive it out of the area.
Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said the incident threatened freedom of navigation in the region.
"Where does weakness lie? Does it lie on our fishermen or the Chinese coast guard firing water cannons at us?" he was quoted by the Philippine Star as saying. "It lies with the Chinese coast guard."
"They [the fishermen] are just doing their livelihood. Why shoot them like that? Why do you we have to assert yourself that way?" he said.
Since the start of the year, Beijing has required foreign fishing boats to seek approval before entering waters that China claims as its own.
According to Reuters, China claims about 90 percent of the South China Sea's 3.5 million sq km (1.35 million sq mile) waters. Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam also claim parts of the sea.
Scarborough Shoal lies 220 km off the main Philippines island of Luzon. It is about 650 km from Hainan, the nearest major Chinese land mass.
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