The United States on Monday said it stood with the Philippines after Manila accused China’s coast guard of using a laser to try to disrupt a resupply mission to troops in the South China Sea.
“The United States stands with our Philippine allies in the face of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Coast Guard’s reported use of laser devices against the crew of a Philippine Coast Guard ship on Feb 6 in the South China Sea,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
The Philippine military said on Monday that China should restrain its forces to prevent them committing any “provocative act”.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said its vessel was assisting a navy mission to deliver food and supplies to troops on an atoll in the disputed waterway on Feb 6 when a Chinese coast guard ship directed a “military-grade laser” at the ship, temporarily blinding its crew on the bridge.
“I think it’s time for the Chinese government to restrain its forces so that it does not commit any provocative act that will endanger the lives of people,” military spokesman Medel Aguilar told reporters.
Mr Aguilar quoted the Philippine defence chief as saying the Chinese action was offensive and unsafe.
The shoal is home to a small Philippine military contingent on board a rusty ship.
The 100m-long World War II ship was intentionally grounded on the shoal, known in the Philippines as Ayungin, in 1999 to reinforce Manila’s sovereignty claims in the Spratly archipelago.
“The deliberate blocking of the Philippine government ships to deliver food and supplies to our military personnel… is a blatant disregard for, and a clear violation of, Philippine sovereign rights,” the PCG said in a statement.(StraitsTimes)