MANILA
\nThe Philippines on Thursday condemned \u201cin strongest terms\u201d the actions of three Chinese coast guard vessels that it said blocked and used water cannon on resupply boats headed toward a Philippine-occupied atoll in the South China Sea.
\nForeign Secretary Teodoro Locsin said no one was hurt during Tuesday\u2019s incident at the Second Thomas Shoal but the Philippines boats, which were transporting food to military personnel based there, had to abort their mission.
\n\u201cChina has no law enforcement rights in and around these areas. They must take heed and back off,\u201d Locsin said in a statement, reminding China that a public vessel is covered by a Philippines-United States Mutual Defense Treaty.
\nLocsin said he had conveyed \u201cin the strongest terms\u201d to China\u2019s ambassador in Manila \u201cour outrage, condemnation and protest of the incident.\u201d
\nChina\u2019s embassy did not immediately respond to Reuters\u2019 request for comment.
\nThe Second Thomas Shoal, 105 nautical miles (195 km) off Palawan, is within the Philippines\u2019 exclusive economic zone and a small contingent of military have occupied it since 1999 having intentionally grounded a navy ship on the reef.
\nChina regards the shoal as its territory as it falls within the \u201cnine-dash line\u201d that it uses on maps denoting its claim to almost the entire South China Sea. A 2016 international arbitration ruling, however, said the Chinese line had no legal basis.
\nLocsin said China\u2019s failure to exercise self-restraint \u201cthreatens the special relationship\u201d between the two countries.
\nThe office of President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been a staunch supporter of China, said it was aware of the incident at the shoal.
\n\u201cWe will continue to assert our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction,\u201d acting spokesperson Karlo Nograles said.
\nBefore the incident, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon said authorities had noticed an unusual presence of Chinese maritime militia near the atoll and Philippine-occupied Thitu island. China has denied operating a militia.
\nThere were 19 vessels near Second Thomas Shoal last week, and 45 near Thitu Island, Esperon told reporters, describing those as \u201cvery aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MANILA The Philippines on Thursday condemned \u201cin strongest terms\u201d the actions of three Chinese coast guard vessels that it said blocked and used water cannon on resupply boats headed toward a Philippine-occupied atoll in the South China Sea. Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin said no one was hurt during Tuesday\u2019s incident at the Second Thomas Shoal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[18,302,303],"class_list":{"0":"post-228186","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world","7":"tag-china","8":"tag-philippines","9":"tag-standoff"},"yoast_head":"\n