▲ South China Sea
China and the Philippines have clashed once again in the disputed waters of the South China Sea over the evacuation of a sick or injured Philippine soldier.
According to reports by AFP and China's state-run Xinhua News Agency on October 9, local time, the Philippine Coast Guard claimed that Chinese coast guard vessels used water cannons to disrupt an operation to evacuate a soldier in need of medical treatment near Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea the previous day.
The soldier in question had been stationed on a grounded warship at Second Thomas Shoal.
Jay Tarriela, a spokesperson for the Philippine Coast Guard, stated that the Chinese coast guard ship fired water cannons—apparent attempts to block the approach of the Philippine patrol vessel—causing the evacuation operation to be delayed by nearly 10 hours.
However, he explained that the water streams did not directly hit the Philippine vessel.
The Philippine Coast Guard deployed rubber boats from about 24 kilometers away to evacuate the soldier, and the soldier's condition is currently reported to be stable.
In response, the Chinese coast guard maintained that it had allowed the evacuation and provided necessary assistance on humanitarian grounds.
Gan Yu, a spokesperson for the China Coast Guard, stated the previous day that the Philippine Coast Guard vessel 4409 evacuated one injured person from the ship grounded near Ren'ai Jiao.
Gan explained that, out of humanitarian considerations, the Chinese side immediately allowed the Philippine side to use a small boat to evacuate the injured person and provided necessary assistance in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.
At the same time, China urged the Philippine side to "stop ignoring facts, distorting the truth, and misleading public opinion."
Previously in July, the Chinese coast guard also fired water cannons for two consecutive days at Philippine government vessels delivering food and fuel to Filipino fishermen near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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