MANILA, Philippines (AP) 鈥� Chinese coast guard ships blasted water cannons at two Philippine government fisheries vessels Friday in the , the third confrontation this week, as top diplomats met in Manila for the annual foreign minister meetings, with the skirmishes in the disputed waters high on the agenda.
China claims virtually the entire sea passage, a key global trade route, despite a based on the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea that invalidated Beijing鈥檚 expansive claims.
Clash happens in the same area for second day
The latest high-seas faceoff happened near for the second day in a row. The Philippine coast guard said a Chinese coast guard ship approached a Philippine government fisheries vessel at a distance of seven meters (23 feet) in what it called a 鈥渞eckless鈥� maneuver that created a serious risk of collision.
The Philippine coast guard strongly condemned 鈥渢he dangerous and unprofessional actions of the China coast guard,鈥� saying the shoal 鈥渋s an integral part of the Philippine territory and its surrounding waters form part of the country鈥檚 territorial sea and exclusive economic zone.鈥�
The Chinese coast guard said multiple Philippine ships, including three coast guard vessels, gathered in the waters on Friday and that it issued verbal warnings, deployed interception measures, and used water cannon to expel them.
鈥淲e sternly warn the Philippines to immediately cease its infringing and provocative actions or bear all consequences that may arise,鈥� it said in a statement.
A clash on Monday at the left two injured.
Violence in South China Sea high on ASEAN agenda
The decades-long territorial standoffs were high on the agenda of the foreign ministers of the and their Asian and Western counterparts in three days of closed-door talks that started Tuesday in the Philippine capital.
The ASEAN ministers discussed the South China Sea disputes Tuesday and issued a joint statement in which they said that 鈥渃oncerns were expressed by some ministers on the land reclamations, activities, serious incidents in the area, including actions that put the safety of all persons at risk, and damage to the marine environment.鈥�
The 11-nation regional bloc鈥檚 top diplomats welcomed 鈥渟ignificant progress鈥� in negotiations with China on a code of conduct that aims to prevent a major armed confrontation in the disputed waters. They said they aim to conclude the negotiations this year.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, met Wednesday on the sidelines of the ASEAN talks and discussed Monday’s clash at the Second Thomas Shoal, calling the incident 鈥渆scalatory.鈥�
Two Philippine sailors aboard a boat were injured after being hit by wooden poles by Chinese coast guard personnel in a separate boat, the Philippines said. China accused Philippine sailors of attacking the Chinese with oars and long sticks.
Nearly a week of ministerial meetings in Manila was capped Friday with the commemoration of ASEAN鈥檚 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, a nonaggression pact, where Philippine Foreign Sec. Theresa Lazaro said that in a time of global uncertainty, peace needs to be always defended.
鈥淧eace is a daily choice,鈥� Lazaro said. 鈥淚t requires continuous labor, deliberate restraint, inclusive dialogue and an unyielding adherence to the rule of law.鈥�
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Associated Press video journalist Joeal Calupitan in Manila, Philippines and writer Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to this report.
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