Summons Beijing Diplomats Following Weekend Incident, Philippines: China's Intervention Is Unacceptable

China's coast guard ship fired water cannons at a Philippine coast guard ship last year. (Twitter/@jaytaryela)

JAKARTA - The Philippine government summoned Chinese diplomats on Monday to protest "aggressive actions" in the South China Sea at the weekend, while Manila's Defense Minister challenged Beijing to strengthen its expansive sovereignty claims by taking them to international arbitration.

The Philippine Foreign Ministry accused China's coast guard of using a water cannon against a civilian vessel supplying troops on Saturday at Second Thomas Shoal, which it said damaged the vessel and injured some of its crew, the latest friction in a series of flare-ups in the past year.

"China's continued interference in the Philippines' routine and legitimate activities in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is unacceptable," the Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, announcing the Chinese Embassy's Chargé d'Affaires had been summoned, as well as filing a diplomatic protest in Beijing, reported by Reuters, March 25.

"This violates the sovereignty and jurisdictional rights of the Philippines," the ministry continued, demanding that the Chinese ships leave the area.

Meanwhile, China's coast guard said on Saturday it was taking necessary action against Philippine vessels intruding into its waters.

Meanwhile, Philippine security chiefs held a high-level meeting on Monday regarding the incident, to prepare recommendations to be submitted to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. regarding the way forward in the dispute.

"The Philippines has made sincere efforts to implement the instructions of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and President Xi Jinping to reduce tensions," Manila's Foreign Ministry said.

"China's aggressive actions call into question China's sincerity in reducing tensions and promoting peace," he continued.

In comments likely to anger Beijing, Philippine Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro on Monday suggested that China demonstrate the strength of its maritime claims through arbitration, not ambiguity.

"If China is not afraid to state its claims to the world, then why don't we have arbitration based on international law?" Teodoro told reporters.

"No country believes (their claims) and they see this as their way of using force, intimidating and bending the Philippines to their ambitions," he said.

Separately, China's Defense Ministry asked the Philippines to stop "provocative actions" and comments that could lead to conflict and escalation.

It is known that the Bamboo Curtain country claims almost the entire South China Sea as its own, including the Second Thomas Shoal which is within the Philippines' 200 mile (320 km) EEZ.

The Philippines deliberately grounded old warships in the shallow waters in 1999 as a way to strengthen its territorial claims and has since maintained a small military force there.

However, China has deployed hundreds of coast guard vessels throughout the South China Sea to patrol areas it considers its waters, despite a 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in a case filed by Manila, which said the claims had no basis under international law. China refused to recognize the results.

Since taking office in 2022, President Marcos Jr. has taken firm action against what it perceives as Chinese hostility, refusing to give in to Beijing's pressure to shun China's claimed features.