It was sunset outside Second Thomas Shoal, a small sandbank just under 200 kilometers from the Philippine island of Palawan. But the crew of the Philippine Coast Guard ship BRP Malapascua had little time to admire the orange-red hue of the sky. In an official statement, they claim to have been blinded with a military laser, according to AP. The ship thus had to turn around. The incident took place on Monday 6 February, but was only reported yesterday. A Chinese coast guard ship sails near a Philippine coast guard ship on February 6, 2023. Photo: AP Supply mission The Malapascua was on its way to supply a small group of soldiers stationed at Second Thomas Shoal. The soldiers are stationed on the Sierra Madre, a rusty World War II warship that the Philippines ran aground in 1999 to reinforce its claim to the sandbar. The rusted warship Sierra Madre stands at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. Photo: Bullit Marquez / AP “The deliberate blocking of Philippine government ships on their way to deliver food and equipment to our military personnel aboard the Sierra Madre is a flagrant violation of the Philippines’ sovereignty in this part of the West Philippine Sea,” the statement said. the statement. In addition to laser guidance on two occasions, two ships from the Chinese maritime militia are said to have formed a blockade together with two Chinese coast guard ships. On one of the Chinese coast guard ships, the crew is said to have removed the protection of a 70 millimeter caliber cannon as the Philippine ship approached. The Chinese Foreign Ministry, for its part, claims that a Philippine ship had entered Chinese waters without permission, and that the Chinese ships responded in a “responsible and professional” manner, in accordance with the law of the sea and China’s laws. A Chinese coast guard ship at Second Thomas Shoal in August 2022. Photo: PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD / Reuters Disputed sea area Second Thomas Shoal is located in one of the world’s most disputed sea areas. The South China Sea is bordered by Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Taiwan and China. All of these countries claim parts of the South China Sea, while China claims about 80 percent of it. According to the law of the sea, Second Thomas Shoal is within the Philippines’ economic zone of 200 nautical miles from the mainland. There are many reasons why the South China Sea is so contested. A third of the world’s maritime traffic passes through this sea, and it contains extensive oil and gas resources and fish stocks. A Chinese J-11 fighter jet flies very close to a US RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft in the South China Sea in December 2022. The US is often on a mission to uphold maritime law in the South China Sea, despite itself has not ratified the Convention on the Law of the Sea. Photo: US INDO-PACIFIC COMMAND / Reuters There are also several larger island groups, including the Spratly Islands, of which Second Thomas Shoal is a part. Over the past three decades, China has stepped up its military presence in the South China Sea, and the country now has the world’s largest navy in terms of number of ships. A Chinese military base on Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea pictured in March 2022. Photo: Aaron Favila / AP On several archipelagos, China has built military installations. This has led to increased tensions with the other countries in the region. In 2016, the Philippines won a case in the International Court of Justice PCA in The Hague, which ruled that China’s interpretation of the law of the sea was illegal.
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