MANILA, (Reuters) – China should restrain its forces to prevent them committing any “provocative act”, the Philippine military said yesterday, after Manila accused China’s coast guard of using a laser to try to disrupt a resupply mission to troops in the South China Sea.
The Philippine coast guard (PCG) said its vessel was assisting a navy mission to deliver food and supplies to troops on an atoll in the disputed waterway on Feb. 6 when a Chinese coast guard ship directed a “military-grade laser” at the ship, temporarily blinding its crew on the bridge.
“I think it’s time for the Chinese government to restrain its forces so that it does not commit any provocative act that will endanger the lives of people,” military spokesperson Medel Aguilar told reporters.
Aguilar quoted the Philippine defence chief as saying the Chinese action was “offensive” and unsafe.
The incident took place at the Second Thomas Shoal, 105 nautical miles (195 km) off the Philippine province of Palawan. The shoal is home to a small Philippine military contingent on board a rusty ship.
The 100-metre long (330-ft) World War Two ship was intentionally grounded on the shoal, known in the Philippines as Ayungin, in 1999 to reinforce Manila’s sovereignty claims in the Spratly archipelago.
“The deliberate blocking of the Philippine government ships to deliver food and supplies to our military personnel … is a blatant disregard for, and a clear violation of, Philippine sovereign rights,” the PCG said in a statement.
China’s foreign ministry said in response that its coast guard conducted actions according to the law.
“We urge the Philippines to avoid such actions, and the actions of China’s staff are professional and restrained,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, told a regular briefing.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the United States stood with the Philippines over the reported laser use.
“The PRC’s (People’s Republic of China) conduct was provocative and unsafe,” he said in a statement.
“More broadly, the PRC’s dangerous operational behavior directly threatens regional peace and stability, infringes upon freedom of navigation in the South China Sea as guaranteed under international law, and undermines the rules-based international order.”
