Dispute over the South China Sea
Chinese coast guard pulls out axes, hammers and machetes
20.06.2024, 21:34
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China claims Philippine territory in the South China Sea for itself. Dangerous maneuvers between sailors are a frequent occurrence in the dispute. This time, knives are also involved. The Chinese leadership describes the behavior as “professional and restrained.”
There has been another clash in the South China Sea between the Chinese coast guard and the Philippine navy – this time with a drawn axe, hammer and machetes. The Philippine armed forces released a video of the incident, which is said to have occurred on Monday, on Wednesday evening and accused the Chinese of a “brutal attack”.
The footage shows a chaotic encounter in which smaller vessels and motorized inflatable boats from both sides are tightly wedged together. The Chinese forcibly attached ropes to the Filipino boats and threatened the Filipino crew members with violence. says the Philippine military. The Chinese side also used loud sirens to disrupt communications and distract the Philippine soldiers.
In the videos, members of the Chinese crew can be seen pointing knives and an axe towards the other side. An object is flying from the Philippine side towards one of the Chinese ships.
“Professional and reserved”
The Chinese coast guard crew reportedly wanted to prevent the marines from bringing food and other supplies to a Philippine outpost in the Second Thomas Shoal, which is also claimed by Beijing.
The Beijing Foreign Ministry said that China had taken “necessary measures” that were “in accordance with the law.” The Chinese occupation forces had acted “professionally and with restraint.”
The Foreign Office in Berlin, however, announced that it was observing China’s behavior with great concern. The available reports, images and videos were disturbing. “Dangerous and irresponsible maneuvers and actions” such as the current incident were in contravention of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and increased the risk of escalation.
Beijing ignores verdict
Beijing and Manila repeatedly accuse each other of dangerous maneuvers in the region. The two countries have been arguing for some time now, particularly over the Second Thomas Shoal. In 1999, Manila ran a ship aground on the reef, about 200 kilometers west of the Philippine island of Palawan, thereby marking its claim to the atoll.
Soldiers are waiting on the rotting warship, who regularly need supplies and provisions. Important resources are believed to be in the area of widely scattered reefs and islands west of the Philippines and far south of China. China claims practically the entire South China Sea for itself. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also claim areas there. Rightly so under international law: Chinese territorial claims were rejected by the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2016. However, Beijing is ignoring the ruling.