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Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star
May 24, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand issued separate statements yesterday condemning China’s latest water cannon attacks and aggressive actions against Philippine civilian vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
The three nations joined the United States and the European Union in their earlier calls for Beijing to stop what it is doing and respect international law, including the 2016 Arbitral Award that invalidated China’s expansive claims over almost the entire South China Sea.
“Canada is alarmed by China’s latest dangerous actions in the South China Sea, including the use of water cannons and ramming a civilian (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources) vessel conducting marine scientific research near Sandy Cay,” the Canadian embassy in Manila said.
UK Ambassador Laure Beaufils said the UK “condemns latest dangerous activity by the Chinese Coast Guard against Philippine civilian vessels near Sandy Cay… risking lives and raising tensions.”
“A worrying escalation of behavior,” she added, noting that “international law and the legally binding 2016 Arbitral Award must be respected.”
The New Zealand embassy in Manila said dangerous actions against Philippine scientific vessels near Sandy Cay are troubling.
“Use of water cannons and contact between vessels risks safety at sea. Peaceful resolution of maritime disputes in accordance with UNCLOS is fundamental to regional stability,” its statement read.
The US and the EU were among the first countries to express concern over the latest incident involving the China Coast Guard and BFAR vessels last Wednesday.
US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said “the China Coast Guard’s aggressive actions against a lawful Philippine civilian mission near Sandy Cay recklessly endangered lives and threaten regional stability.”
“The EU stands with the Philippines and reiterates the importance of upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the rules-based international order, including the 2016 South China Sea arbitration,” EU Ambassador Massimo Santoro said.
The National Maritime Council (NMC) condemned on Friday the recent aggressive actions and unlawful interference of the Chinese Coast Guard and militia vessels that shadowed and sideswiped Philippine scientific research vessels within the country’s territorial waters.
“The Philippines has longstanding sovereignty and jurisdiction over Pag-asa Island and all of its cays, which form part of the Philippines’ Kalayaan Island Group in the West Philippine Sea,” the NMC, chaired by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, said in a statement.
“As such, these deliberate acts of interference and intimidation seriously violate the sovereignty of the Philippines and constitute a grave violation of international law, particularly the (UNCLOS) and relevant domestic laws,” the statement read.
The BFAR has denounced the CCG for what it described as hostile and illegal actions against two Philippine research vessels during a routine scientific mission in the West Philippine Sea.
“This incident marks the first time water cannons have been used against DA-BFAR research vessels in the area of the Pag-asa Cays,” BFAR said.
China: Philippines infringed on South China Sea reefs
Beijing, however, is accusing the Philippines of infringing on its waters in the South China Sea, even as it has again unfurled its flag in one of the cays in the area.
The China Coast Guard, as reported by Xinhua, slammed the Philippines for its alleged illegal activities around in the vicinity of Pag-asa Cay 2 (Sandy Cay) on Wednesday, when a CCG vessel sideswiped and used water cannons on civilian ships of the BFAR.
China, which refers to the features as Zhubi Jiao and Tiexian Jiao, said the Philippine vessels violated China’s territorial sovereignty and is urging the Philippines “to cease such infringements immediately.”
Beijing claimed that without approval from the Chinese government, the two Philippine ships illegally entered its waters, prompting CCG enforcement personnel to take measures “to deal with the situation in a professional, standard, reasonable and legal manner.”
CCG spokesman Liu Dejun said one of the BFAR vessels, allegedly ignoring multiple serious warnings from the Chinese side, dangerously approached a CCG ship, causing a collision that it blames on the Philippines.
“We urge the Philippine side to immediately cease such violations. The CCG will continue its law enforcement activities to legally safeguard China’s sovereignty and rights in waters under the country’s jurisdiction,” he said.
Defending sea rights
Meanwhile, Speaker Martin Romualdez stood before the world’s lawmakers in Madrid, Spain to deliver the Philippines’ message, that Filipinos will defend sovereign rights through the force of international law and the unity of democratic nations.
Speaking at the 29th Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum Thursday afternoon, Romualdez reaffirmed the Philippines’ unwavering commitment to UNCLOS and the Arbitral Award that categorically recognized the country’s sovereign rights in its EEZ and rejected China’s sweeping maritime claims.
“Let me be clear: the Philippines remains steadfast in protecting our rights and entitlements in the West Philippine Sea,” Romualdez said. “We categorically reject attempts to undermine our sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction through coercion or disinformation.” — Helen Flores, Christine Boton, Janvic Mateo, Bella Cariaso, Ghio Ong, Jose Rodel Clapano
