South China Sea: Beijing tells Philippines to remove grounded warship from disputed reef after latest clash in long-running territorial dispute

Philippine ships regularly bring supplies to marines stationed on the vessel and last weekend’s incident was the first time Chinese coastguard have used water cannon against such supply missions since November 2021.

On Monday the Chinese coastguard said it had blocked the Philippine ships “in accordance with the law and took cautionary enforcement measures” and its actions were “professional and restrained, beyond reproach”.

A spokesman added: “In the event of repeated warnings being ineffective, in order to avoid collisions caused by direct blocking, water cannons were used as a warning.”

It also claimed the Philippine ships “disregarded China’s repeated dissuasion and warnings and attempted to transfer construction materials used for maintaining and repairing the ship, which has been grounded on the shoal illegally”.

The coastguard also said the Philippines had repeatedly promised to remove the vessel and had “refused to respond” to requests for talks to manage the dispute.

“The Chinese side urges the Philippines to tow away the grounded warship from the Renai Reef and restore the Renai Reef to its original state,” the spokesman added.