The Armed Forces of the Philippines made a serious allegations against China on Monday as they accused China’s coast guard of firing water cannon at Filipino fishermen to drive them away from the disputed Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.
Yusheng 310 Chinese Vessel (Photo Credit: Asia Security Watch)
According to the testimony made by Armed Forces chief General Emmanuel Bautista on Monday at the forum of the Foreign Correspondents (–foul word(s) removed–)ociation of the Philippines (FOCAP), the Chinese vessels fired cannon on January 27 near Panatag Shoal, one of the subject of a bitter territorial row in the West Philippine Sea or the South China Sea.
General Bautista was quoted as saying “The Chinese coast guard tried to drive away Filipino fishing vessels to the extent of using water cannon,” Bautista said. The AFP General did not elaborate further the details of the incident, he did not say if anyone was hurt but added that China continues to maintain an armed coast guard near the disputed shoal.
The Panatag Shoal or Scarborough Shoal is one of the few shoal located in the Western coast of the Philippines which is also claimed by China. The Scarborough Shoal lies 220 kilometers (135 miles) off the province of Zambales, it is about 650 kilometers from Hainan island, the nearest major Chinese land m(–foul word(s) removed–).
The distance of the Scarborough shoal from the Philippines land m(–foul word(s) removed–) is well within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the country based upon the UNCLOS 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers; 230 miles) from the baseline of the main island.
The South China Sea is considered as one of the world’s most important waterways as it is home to vital shipping lanes and it is believed to sit atop lucrative deposits of natural gas resources.
China has occupied part of the Scarborough Shoal as part of its claim to most of the South China Sea.
