Philippines says China Coast Guard fired water cannon, 'sideswiped' government vessel
A Chinese Coast Guard ship patrols the area as Philippine inter-agency members visit Sandy Cay 2 at the South China Sea on Apr 27, 2025. (File photo: AP/National Task Force West Philippine Sea)
MANILA: The Philippines fisheries bureau accused the China Coast Guard on Thursday (May 22) of firing water cannon and sideswiping a Filipino government vessel while it collected sand for a research project.
China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely, despite an international ruling that the assertion has no legal basis.
Wednesday's encounter happened near a group of small sandbanks in the Spratly Islands where two Filipino ships were collecting sand samples "as part of a marine scientific research initiative", the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said in a statement.
"At approximately 9.13am, China Coast Guard vessel 21559 water cannoned and sideswiped the BRP Datu Sanday (MMOV 3002) twice ... putting at risk the lives of its civilian personnel."
It was the first time water cannons were used against Philippine vessels near the disputed Sandy Cay reef, the bureau added.
The "aggressive interference, dangerous manoeuvres, and illegal acts" damaged the Philippine ship's port bow and smokestack, according to the bureau's statement.
The Philippines scientific team was still able "to complete its operations in Pag-Asa Cays 1, 2 and 3", the statement said, using the Philippine term for the Sandy Cays.
China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said she was not aware of the incident.
"What I can tell you is that the Chinese Coast Guard always enforces the law in accordance with laws and regulations," she said.
Last month, the Philippines slammed as "irresponsible" a Chinese state media report claiming that Sandy Cay 2 was put under China's control.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said that the country's coast guard had "implemented maritime control" over Tiexian Reef in mid-April.
