US condemns latest "aggressive" China action vs. PH

The United States has condemned China's latest aggresive actions against Philippine government vessels off the Scarborough Shoal, a South China Sea feature both being claimed by Manila and Beijing.

China claimed more than 10 Philippine vessels intruded into the shoal it calls Huangyan Island and used water cannons against it to drive them away.

"The US condemns China's aggressive actions in the Philippine EEZ near Scarborough Reef. We commend the Philippine government and Coast Guard for professionally exercising Philippine sovereign rights, protecting Filipino fisherfolk, and upholding maritime law for a free and open IndoPacific," US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said on X.

Philippine government officials said the ships were deployed to the shoal on Tuesday to provide supplies, such as water and fuel, to more than 35 Filipino fishing boats near the shoal.

The Philippine coast guard said two Chinese coast guard ships blasted a Bureau of Fisheries vessel, the BRP Datu Gumbay Piang, with powerful water cannons “resulting in significant damage."

The incident occured nearly a week after China announced a plan to turn Scarborough Shoal as a national nature reserve - a move strongly protested by the Philippines. Several Philippine allies led by the US backed Manila's opposition to China's move, calling it provicative and a violation of international law. 

The shoal, a U-shaped rocky outcrop teeming with marine resources, was seized by China from Manila in 2012 following a two-month standoff, triggering an arbitration complaint by the Philippines a decade ago. 

Manila maintains it has sovereignty over the shoal, saying "it forms an integral part of the Philippine national territory."

China on Sept. 10 said it approved the creation of a national nature reserve at Scarborough Shoal, in a move aimed at reinforcing its territorial claims and maritime rights in the contested region. —LDF, GMA Integrated News