Philippines Summons Chinese Ambassador Over Water Cannon Incident

The Philippine government summoned China's ambassador Monday and presented a strongly worded diplomatic protest over the Chinese coast guard's use of water cannons in a weekend confrontation with Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea, officials said. The United States, the European Union, Australia and Japan expressed support for the Philippines and concern over the Chinese actions. Philippine coast guard and diplomatic officials held a news conference Monday at which they showed videos and photographs which they said showed six Chinese coast guard ships and two militia vessels blocking two Philippine navy-chartered civilian boats taking supplies to the Philippine forces at Second Thomas Shoal. One supply boat was hit with a powerful water cannon by the Chinese coast guard, the Philippine military said. During the confrontation, two Philippine coast guard ships escorting the supply boats were also blocked by the Chinese coast guard ships at close range and were threatened with water cannons. In Beijing, the Chinese coast guard acknowledged its ships used water cannons against the Philippine vessels, which it said strayed without authorization into the shoal, which Beijing calls Ren'ai Jiao. The U.S. State Department said in a statement Sunday that by "Firing water cannons and employing unsafe blocking maneuvers, [Chinese] ships interfered with the Philippines' lawful exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and jeopardized the safety of the Philippine vessels and crew." It added that such actions are a direct threat to "Regional peace and stability."