Manila on Monday, August 7, summoned Beijing's ambassador to protest the firing of water cannons on Philippine boats in the South China Sea, stressing that it will "never" give up an island in the crucial maritime zone.

EDITED BY| HUXIANA

Asia  section -  CJ journalist

Manila -  August,7,2023

The incident occurred when Filipino boats were escorting a supply mission for soldiers stationed in the Spratly Islands.

Manila accused Beijing of committing "illegal" and"dangerous" acts by firing water cannons at boats belonging to its coast guard, cutting off the supply mission, hindering the passage of a ship while the second managed to reach its destination.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos told reporters that"our foreign minister summoned Ambassador Huang today and handed him a note with photos and video about what happened, and we are waiting for their response".

"China's position, of course, is to say that this is ours and we are defending it, and we, for our part, are saying No, this belongs to us and we are defending it, so it becomes a gray area and this is what we are discussing,"he said.

In addition, National Security Council spokesman Jonathan Malaya stressed that Manila "will never give up" a small island disputed with Beijing in the South China Sea.

"We will never give up Ayungin island, we are sticking to it," he said, using the Filipino name for the small Second Thomas Island in the Spratly Islands.

In this context, the US State Department in a statement condemned the Chinese actions, saying that they were carried out by the coast guard and a"Naval Militia", and directly threaten regional peace and stability.

Beijing, which claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, said it had taken "necessary controls" against ships that had entered its waters illegally.

In its response to the statement of the US State Department, Beijing considered that Washington ignored the "facts". "What the United States is doing is providing support for the Philippines' flagrant violation of China's sovereignty, and this conspiracy is doomed to failure,"a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement.

This incident brings the issue of tension to the interface between China and the Philippines, as Beijing claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, which are internationally rejected claims, while Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines claim sovereignty over certain areas in the waterway.

Last month, the Philippine coast guard accused a Chinese ship of trying to intercept two of their ships in the disputed waters. A similar incident occurred in April with a last-minute collision averted when a Chinese ship cut off a Philippine vessel with journalists on board.