Crew members briefly blinded
Philippines accuses China of using lasers
2/14/2023 9:33 am
Incidents keep happening in the South China Sea. According to the Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a military laser was used in the most recent incident. Its beam even temporarily blinded crew members on a coastal ship.
The Philippines have accused China of carrying out a military laser attack on one of their coastal defense vessels in the South China Sea. The Foreign Ministry officially lodged a protest at the Chinese Embassy in Manila. The Chinese Coast Guard’s actions constituted “a threat to Philippine sovereignty and security as a state,” the complaint said.
Some crew members of the “BRP Malapascua” were temporarily blinded by the laser beam, the Coast Guard announced on Monday. She spoke of a “blatant disregard” of the Philippine sovereign rights”. According to the information, the incident happened on February 6 near the Second Thomas Shoal. The underwater reef is part of the Spratly Islands. A stranded transport ship from the Second World War is used there by the Philippine military as an outpost.
China claims the entire strategically important archipelago, while Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines each claim part of the islands. There are military garrisons on many of the otherwise uninhabited islands. The “Malapascua” had been escorting a Philippine Navy ship that was to bring food, supplies and new personnel to the outpost. As a result of the use of the laser, the ship was forced to leave the area again.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Teresita Daza said the incident came just a month after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited Beijing. Marcos Jr. and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to “resolve maritime differences through diplomacy and dialogue, without resorting to violence and intimidation.”
In the South China Sea, there are always incidents due to territorial conflicts. China claims 80 percent of the resource-rich sea area with important shipping lanes. The International Court of Arbitration in The Hague rejected the claims in 2016. Beijing ignores the verdict.