Metro Manila, Philippines – The Chinese coast guard fired a water cannon and allegedly sideswiped a vessel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) doing marine research in the vicinity of Pagasa Cay in the West Philippine Sea, the agency said in a statement Thursday, May 22.
It said China Coast Guard vessel 21559 trained a water cannon at the BRP Datu Sanday on Wednesday morning and sideswiped the ship twice, resulting in “some damage to the latter’s port bow and smokestack, and putting at risk lives of its civilian personnel on board.”
“This incident marks the first time water cannons have been used against DA-BFAR research vessels in the area of the Pagasa Cays,” the BFAR said.
WATCH: A Chinese coast guard vessel fires a water cannon and sideswipes a vessel of the Bureau of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in the vicinity of Pag-asa Cay 2 in the West Philippine Sea.
The BFAR said BRP Datu Sanday and another vessel, BRP Datu Pagbuaya, were on a… pic.twitter.com/tybXEInZas
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The Datu Sanday and BRP Datu Pagbuaya were on a routine mission on Wednesday with a team of scientists to collect sand samples, which was “part of marine scientific research initiative,” the BFAR said.
In a virtual briefing, Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson on the West Philippine Sea, said there were Chinese maritime militia in the vicinity during the encounter.
“Despite the aggressive interference, dangerous maneuvers, and illegal acts by the CCG and Chinese maritime militia vessels, the Philippine scientific team was able to complete its operations in Pagasa Cays 1, 2 and 3,” the BFAR said.
Tarriela also said such harassment will “never stop the government in conducting marine scientific research over these waters.”
Meanwhile, in a report by Chinese state media Xinhua, the CCG slammed the Philippines for its alleged illegal activities over the disputed maritime features, which Beijing calls Zhubi Jiao and Tiexian Jiao, and urged Manila to stop its supposed infringement.
CCG spokesperson Liu Dejun said the Philippine ships “illegally entered” the contested waters, “with some personnel unlawfully landing on Tiexian Jiao.”
“CCG enforcement personnel have taken measures against the ships, landing on the reef to deal with the situation in a professional, standard, reasonable and legal manner,” Liu was quoted as saying.
Liu said the Philippines was “fully responsible for the incident” as one of the Philippine ships “[ignored] multiple serious warnings from the Chinese side, dangerously approached a CCG ship conducting its duties, causing a bump between the two vessels.”
The spokesperson also asserted China’s “indisputable sovereignty” over Spratly Islands, which Beijing calls Nansha Qundao, and alleged the Philippines “violated the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and undermined peace and stability in the region.”
The National Maritime Council said on Friday that the Philippines “remains committed to the peaceful settlement of disputes, but at the same time will continue to exercise its rights, protect its maritime interests, and uphold the mandates of our civilian agencies, the DA-BFAR, in carrying out their responsibility in our waters.”
In April, the Philippines conducted a maritime operation in the Pagasa cays to debunk the claims of China that it has seized control of the tiny sandbanks.
In 2024, several marine scientists were injured after a Chinese helicopter closely hovered over them during a survey in one of the cays.
The Pagasa cays, internationally known as Sandy Cay, are within the territorial waters of the Philippines.
They are near Pagasa Island where the Philippines maintains a military outpost and a coast guard station — the largest Philippine-occupied feature in the Spratlys.
