Philippine military says China injured sailor in sea clash

MANILA – The Philippine military accused the China Coast Guard on July 20 of clubbing a Filipino sailor with a baton as they approached a grounded vessel that has long served as a Philippine garrison in the disputed South China Sea.News of the incident on July 20 came just hours after the Philippine Foreign Ministry said the two countries’ top diplomats would meet at a regional summit in Manila this week.The Philippines said in a statement that a Chinese rigid-hull inflatable boat carrying eight men had circled and taken photos and video of the BRP Sierra Madre, which sits on the flashpoint Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly archipelago.China claims almost the entirety of the crucial waterway despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, and has frequently clashed with Philippine vessels in the area.The latest clash in the crucial waterway took place after the Philippines sent two rubber boats to drive them away, the statement said.“The (Chinese coast guard) personnel reacted violently and aggressively by striking a Philippine Navy personnel on the head with a wooden baton, causing injury and damaging the navy rubber boat,” the statement said.The Philippine Defence Department said in a separate statement that the encounter added “to a clear pattern of provocative and hostile behaviour” by the Chinese coast guard.The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not respond to a request for comment.In June 2024, Chinese law enforcement personnel armed with knives, sticks and an axe attacked Filipino troops attempting to resupply a Philippine garrison on Second Thomas Shoal.The two sides said in July 2024 that they had reached a provisional deal on resupply missions to the Sierra Madre, which was grounded to assert Manila’s claims to the reef.The clash on July 20 comes on the heels of an ongoing war of words between China and the Philippines over their South China Sea claims.Manila filed a diplomatic protest on July 17 over a “racist” video posted by Chinese state media, in which the Philippines was portrayed as a cartoon monkey. AFP