The Philippine military said on Tuesday that Chinese boats illegally “confiscated” food and medicine and dropped them by air on a Philippine outpost in the South China Sea, accusing China of “aggressive and unjustified interference.”
• Read also: New Chinese-Philippine skirmishes: Manila summons a Chinese representative
• Read also: The Philippines, the United States, Japan and Australia conduct joint exercises in the China Sea
The alleged incident occurred on May 19 near Thomas Atoll II, part of the Spratly Islands, where Philippine forces barricaded a stranded naval vessel to defend Manila's claims in this area.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, and a series of incidents between Chinese and Filipino ships near reefs claimed by both countries has raised tensions.
The Philippine military accused China of “aggressive and unjustified interference,” saying that two Chinese rubber boats came within 10 meters of the stranded Sierra Madre boat and seized a package dropped by a plane that was intended for Philippine forces.
The army said that this type of confiscation by Chinese boats is the first of its kind.
“This act of seizing or confiscating our equipment is illegal,” Gen. Romeo Brawner, chief of staff of the Philippine Army, told reporters. “We are not supposed to confiscate another country’s shipments, even in times of war.”
Philippine Navy spokesman Roy Vincent Trinidad said the Chinese personnel on board the boats then threw the seized goods into the water.
The military was unable to determine whether the boats belonged to the Chinese Coast Guard or Navy.
Thomas Reef II is located about 200 kilometers from Palawan Island in the western Philippines and more than 1,000 kilometers from China's Hainan Island.
General Brawner said that if Philippine resupply missions are generally carried out by sea, last month they were carried out by air to avoid any Chinese “resistance” or “harassment.”
However, he denied reports that Filipino troops aboard the Sierra Madre turned their weapons on the Chinese boats.
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, ignoring the claims of the Philippines and other countries, and ignoring an international ruling that its position is not based on law.
