(Manila) The Philippine military released a video showing armed Chinese coast guards in a violent altercation with members of the Philippine navy near a strategic atoll in the South China Sea, drawing reproaches from Beijing which accused Manila on Thursday of “escalating tensions.”
The clash took place Monday during a resupply mission for Filipino soldiers stationed on a military ship stranded on Second Thomas Atoll, according to Manila.
New images of the confrontation, released Wednesday evening by the Philippine army, show Chinese sailors shouting and brandishing knives and an ax from small boats, but also hitting an inflatable boat with sticks.
Incidents at sea between China and the Philippines have increased in recent months, as Beijing redoubles its efforts to assert its territorial claims in this disputed maritime zone.
Gen. Romeo Brawner, chief of staff of the Philippine Army, said Wednesday that the outnumbered Filipino crew was unarmed and fought “with their bare hands.”
A Filipino sailor lost a thumb in the incident, during which the Chinese coast guard confiscated or destroyed Filipino equipment, including firearms, according to the Philippine military.
The axe-wielding Chinese sailor had “threatened to harm” a Filipino serviceman, while others “explicitly threatened harm” to Philippine forces, Manila said.
Another footage shows a Chinese coast guard violently hitting an inflatable boat with a stick. A second man is also seen slashing the boat with a knife.
The Filipino sailors, dressed in brown camouflage outfits, helmets and vests, do not carry weapons in these videos.
These images released by Philippine authorities contrast sharply with photos published Wednesday by Chinese state media, which did not show armed men.
Asked about this video, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin Jian, on Thursday dismissed Manila’s “totally bogus” allegations and accused it of wanting to “slanderously reject” responsibility for incident in Beijing.
“This operation led by the Philippines is in no way a supply of humanitarian materials,” the version defended by Manila, he declared during a regular press conference.
“These Philippine ships were carrying not only construction materials, but also weapons and equipment and deliberately rammed Chinese ships. These Filipino sailors also threw water and threw objects at Chinese law enforcement. These practices have obviously aggravated tensions at sea,” he stressed.
Manila has accused Beijing of committing an “act of piracy” against its forces. She demanded the return of items “looted” by the Chinese, including seven rifles, as well as compensation for damaged equipment.
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, an important trade route, and ignores an international arbitration that ruled against it in 2016. It patrols hundreds of coast guard and navy vessels there and has transformed several reefs into militarized artificial islands.
Analysts believe that Beijing is increasing confrontations with the Philippines in an attempt to oust them from the South China Sea.
Chinese forces may be preparing to seize the Philippine ship stranded on Second Thomas Atoll, according to Jay Batongbacal, director of the Institute of Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea in Manila.
“The deployment of their forces around the Sierra Madre (the name of the building) and the many reefs around the Kalayaan Islands indicates that they are ready to do this,” he said, referring to areas claimed by Manila in the Spratly Islands.
Senior Biden administration officials have repeatedly said that an “armed attack” on Philippine ships, aircraft, armed forces or coast guard anywhere in the South China Sea would trigger the application of the mutual defense treaty.
In a call with his Philippine counterpart Enrique A. Manalo on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken “emphasized that (China’s) actions harm regional peace and stability,” according to the Department of State. State.
Mr. Blinken also “underscored the United States’ steadfast commitment to the Philippines through our Mutual Defense Treaty.”
For Duan Dang, a maritime security analyst based in Vietnam, these clashes “bring us dangerously close” to a situation where the United States would be forced to intervene militarily.
