|
The incident, which the Philippines said took place last month,
involved a member of a small contingent of marines posted to
guard the BRP Sierra Madre, a Philippine vessel grounded at the
disputed Second Thomas Shoal, the site of repeated
confrontations with China this past year.
Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said coast guard and navy
boats were harassed by Chinese vessels, despite having informed
them the operation was of a medical nature.
"The barbaric and inhumane behavior displayed by the China Coast
Guard has no place in our society," Tarriela said in a
statement.
The Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday it will allow the
Philippines to deliver supplies and evacuate personnel if Manila
notifies Beijing ahead of a mission.
"However, the Philippines may not use this as an excuse to
transport materials of construction to its naval vessels in an
attempt to permanently occupy Ren'ai Jiao," Chinese foreign
ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a briefing.
China refers to the Second Thomas Shoal as Ren'ai Jiao.
Tarriela said the Chinese coast guard "engaged in dangerous
maneuvers and even intentionally rammed" a navy boat while it
was transporting the sick personnel.
"What should have been a simple medical evacuation operation was
subjected to harassment," Tarriela said.
Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner said on Tuesday the
first attempt to transport the sick soldier to the western
province of Palawan failed after they were blocked by the
Chinese.
Another attempt was made the next day with the help of the
Philippine coast guard and the soldier was successfully
evacuated, Brawner said.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for
more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce, and has deployed
hundreds of coast guard vessels as far as 1,000 km off its
mainland to police what it says is its jurisdiction.
The Philippines and China have sparred repeatedly this past year
near disputed features that fall in Manila's exclusive economic
zone. China routinely accuses the Philippines of encroachment
while Manila and its allies have condemned what they call
aggression by Beijing.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague said
China's claims had no legal basis, a decision Beijing has
rejected.
(Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Additional Reporting by Liz Lee
and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Martin Petty and Edwina Gibbs)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
