China, Philippines Protest Each Other’s Actions in the South China Sea, Relations Now ‘at a Crossroads’

Two China Coast Guard vessels use high-powered water cannons against a civilian craft contracted by the Philippine Navy to deliver provisions to Philippine crew stationed on the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. Image via Xinhua.

The Chinese and Philippines governments each lodged official protests with one another over last Saturday’s confrontation in the South China Sea when China Coast Guard vessels used high-powered water canons against a small Filipino boat conducting a resupply mission.

On Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) summoned Zhou Zhiyong, the chargé d’affairs at the Chinese embassy in Manila, to issue a formal protest and instructed its embassy in Beijing to do the same with the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

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by Eric Olander

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