China’s water cannon assault surprises PH amid deescalation talks

TWO FORMS OF HARASSMENT A China Coast Guard (CCG) ship (left photo) trains its water cannon on the Philippine military-
chartered civilian boat Unaizah May 4 in an attempt to block the latter’s supply mission to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal
in the West Philippine Sea on Tuesday. Earlier, the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) BRP Sindangan was damaged after a collision
(right) with a CCG ship due to the latter’s “dangerous blocking maneuvers,” the PCG said. —PHOTOS FROMPCG

MANILA, Philippines — China’s water cannon assault against a Filipino boat in the West Philippine Sea came as a surprise for the Philippines as both Manila and Beijing have already agreed to deescalate the situation in the contested waters.

“Both sides have mentioned that they want to deescalate tension,” National Security Council spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said in a press briefing Wednesday.

The water cannon assault of two China Coast Guard personnel against a supply boat doing a rotation and resupply (Rore) mission in the Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal injured four Philippine Navy personnel.

READ: 4 PH Navy crew hurt by China Coast Guard’s water cannon attack

Malaya was referring to the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) between Manila and Beijing held in January.

During the BCM, Manila and Beijing agreed to “deescalate the situation” and “calmly deal with incidents … through diplomacy,” according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

READ: China, PH agree to boost sea dispute talks, conflict resolution

After this diplomatic engagement, no untoward incident occurred during the February Rore mission for the BRP Sierra Madre, a naval military outpost grounded in the shallow waters of the West Philippine Sea.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines even said the Rore last month was “flawless.”

“We were also surprised about what happened there in Ayungin Shoal yesterday,” Malaya said. “We thought we were turning the page already.”