China blasts Philippine ships with water cannon

AWANI

China’s Coast Guard used water cannon against more than 10 Philippine ships near Scarborough Shoal, accusing Manila of ramming a vessel, while the Philippines dismissed Beijing’s claims as disinformation.

Transcript

00:00Now, China's Coast Guard has fired water cannon at Philippine ships near Scarborough Shoal,

00:05escalating tension in the South China Sea.

00:08Beijing accused more than 10 Philippine vessels of entering Chinese waters from several directions,

00:15violating its sovereignty and claimed one deliberately rammed its ship.

00:20However, the Philippine Maritime Council rejected the allegations as false and misleading,

00:25calling them part of a wider disinformation campaign.

00:30Tensions between the two countries have simmered for years,

00:35marked by repeated clashes at sea and large-scale naval drills.

00:40Just last week, China approved plans to designate Scarborough, or Huangyan Island as Beijing calls it,

00:46a national nature reserve, though it has not set boundaries.

00:50Manila also claims the shoal, known locally as Panatak.

00:53China insists nearly the entire South China Sea is its own,

00:57overlapping the exclusive zones of several neighbours.

01:01In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague ruled against Beijing's claims.

01:05China has never recognised that decision.

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