Manila, Feb 13 (EFE) – The Philippine Coast Guard accuses a Chinese coastal patrol of stepping up its harassment methods by using a blinding laser, “likely for military use”, against one of its vessels for the first time in the South China Sea, scenario of territorial disputes between China and the countries of the area.
“A green laser (directed from a Chinese ship) blinded our ship’s crew for about ten seconds. This is the first time that Chinese ships have used this method” against the Philippine Coast Guard, EFE told EFE. the spokesman for the Philippine Coast Guard. Monday Philippine Coast Guard, Armand Balilo.
Balilo added that, based on preliminary reviews, “we believe the laser is likely for military use.”
This new incident occurred on February 6 in the waters of the South China Sea, around the atoll of Ayungin -which the Philippines occupies-, and less than 200 miles (about 322 kilometers) from the coast. western Palawan, southwest of the archipelago and inside the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.
This distance, 200 nautical miles, is the limit established by the UN to determine the maritime sovereignty of states, according to a convention to which China adhered in 1996.
In a statement released yesterday, the Philippine Coast Guard accused a Chinese Coast Guard vessel of “twice using the laser against the vessel Malapascua” in addition to performing “dangerous maneuvers while approaching less 150 yards (137 yards)” from the Philippine ship.
TENSION ESCALATION
The complaint comes at a delicate time, a week after the Philippines and the United States signed an agreement that guarantees the North American country access for its troops to four new military bases in “strategic” areas of the Philippines.
U.S. access to the as-yet-undisclosed bases – with an eye on locations in the north and south of the country, including Palawan – would help contain Chinese movements in the country, experts say. Taiwan, an autonomous island that Beijing does not rule out invading, and in the South China Sea.
It was in Palawan that US Vice President Kamala Harris visited the Philippine Coast Guard last November, where she gave a speech in which she said her country “will defend the Philippines” against “bullying “Chinese in the waters off Manila and Beijing. dispute.
China and the Philippines have a dispute over the sovereignty of several islands and atolls in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely for “historical reasons”, also vying for territory with Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Brunei. .
Meanwhile, the United States is seeking to thwart Beijing’s moves in key global trade and natural resource-rich waters, amid the two countries’ struggle to increase influence in the Pacific. EFE
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