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China is back to bullying its neighbors in the South China Sea. Earlier today the Chinese Coast Guard fired water cannons at a ship from the Philippines and then sideswiped the ship.
Three Philippine coast guard and bureau of fisheries vessels were on routine patrol to protect Filipino fishermen at Scarborough Shoal when several Chinese coast guard and navy ships approached and staged “aggressive actions” after dawn, the Philippine coast guard said.
On Wednesday, one of the Philippine vessels, BRP Datu Pagbuaya, was hit by high-pressure water fired from a Chinese coast guard ship with bow number 3302 which targeted its navigational antennas about 16 nautical miles (30 kilometers) south of Scarborough, Manila’s coast guard said.
Shortly after, the Chinese coast guard ship “intentionally sideswiped the BRP Datu Pagbuaya on its starboard side” and then “launched a second water cannon attack on the same vessel,” it said.
Philippine coast guard ship BRP Teresa Magbanua “faced blocking, shadowing and dangerous maneuvers” by two Chinese navy and coast guard ships, it said. Another Philippine coast guard ship, the BRP Cabra, “was subjected to reckless maneuvers” by a Chinese coast guard ship at a distance of about 300 yards (274 meters), Philippine coast guard officials said.
Here’s video of the incident.
▶️The Philippine coast guard released a video Wednesday showing what it described as « aggressive actions » by Chinese navy and coast guard vessels against a routine patrol near the contested Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.