South China Sea: Manila rejects Chinese account, says coastguard blocked fishing boat rescue

Chinese boats arrived not to help but ‘obstruct and hinder’ efforts to rescue seriously injured Filipino fishermen, Philippine coastguard says

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Chinese coastguard vessels seen near the stricken Philippine fishing boat off the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Saturday. Photo: Xinhua

Liu Zhen

Published: 10:01pm, 1 Jul 2024

After China said its coastguard helped to rescue two Filipino fishermen near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, the Philippines has alleged that the Chinese obstructed its own rescue attempt.

Saturday’s incident was the latest involving the rival claimants in the South China Sea, after a string of confrontations in the past year including collisions, the use of water cannon by the Chinese side and their first “boarding inspection” two weeks ago, as well as a war of narratives.

Video clips from the scene released by both sides on Sunday showed a half-sunken Philippine fishing boat, with China Coast Guard (CCG) patrol ship 3105 and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel MRRV 4407 nearby.

The accident was caused by an engine explosion on the fishing boat, which resulted in serious injuries to the two fishermen and also nearly sank the boat.

“A CCG vessel quickly arrived at the location of the distressed Philippine fishing boat to carry out a rescue operation by releasing small boats,” a voice-over on the nearly two-minute video clip from the Chinese coastguard said.

The video showed two rigid-hull inflatable boats being deployed from the CCG patrol ship 3105. These approached the sinking boat and officers in uniform on board were shown throwing lifebuoys and life jackets to a person in the water.

The incident came a fortnight after Beijing issued new administrative guidelines for its coastguard in dealing with trespassers within what it claims as Chinese territory. The new rules, which took effect on June 15, lay down standard procedures involving foreign nationals including a requirement that the whole process be recorded.