(Manila) The Chinese coast guard blocked and struck two Philippine ships which were carrying out the medical evacuation of a soldier, according to a video released Friday by the Philippine coast guard.
The alleged incident occurred on May 19 near Second Thomas Atoll, part of the Spratly Islands, where Philippine troops garrisoned a stranded navy ship to defend Manila’s claims in the area .
The atoll is located about 200 kilometers from the Philippine archipelago of Palawan, and more than 1,000 kilometers from the nearest Chinese coast, the island of Hainan.
The Philippine coast guard says it has deployed a ship near the atoll these days to transfer a sick soldier to hospital, and has informed the Chinese coast guard of the “humanitarian nature” of their mission.
In a series of videos released by the Philippine Coast Guard, a Chinese-flagged inflatable boat collides with Philippine ships preparing to transfer the soldier.
Other boats, identified by the Philippines as belonging to the Chinese Coast Guard, are also seen following and blocking the two Philippine vessels.
“What should have been a simple medical evacuation operation was subject to harassment,” Jay Tarriela, a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman, said in a statement.
The Philippine army had already claimed on Tuesday that Chinese boats had illegally “seized” food and medicine dropped by plane on the atoll.
Other videos released by the Philippines on Friday show Chinese ships following Philippine coast guard boats carrying scientists who came to examine coral at Sabina Shoal, another atoll in the Spratlys.
In response to Manila’s accusations, the Chinese Foreign Ministry signaled that it could, if Beijing was sufficiently informed in advance, “allow” the Philippines to deliver “necessary supplies” and evacuate personnel from the atoll if necessary.
“However, the Philippines should not use this pretext to ship construction materials to the deliberately grounded warship with the aim of permanently occupying the reef,” he added.
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, sweeping aside the claims of the Philippines and other countries.
