SIMIC

THE Philippines has accused a Chinese coast guard ship of hitting a Philippine coast guard vessel with a military-grade laser, temporarily blinding its bridge team in a disputed area of South China Sea, reported the Associated Press.
The Chinese ship also maneuvered dangerously close, about 137 metres (449 feet), to block the Philippine patrol vessel BRP Malapascua from approaching Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef that has been occupied by Philippine forces, on February 6, the Philippine Coast Guard said in a statement.
The Philippines has filed nearly 200 diplomatic protests against China¡¯s aggressive actions in the disputed waters in 2022 alone.
China claims the South China Sea virtually in its entirety, putting it on a collision course with other claimants. Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in January in Beijing. Yet tensions have persisted, drawing in a closer military alliance between the Philippines and the US.
Although the Chinese coast guard had tried to block Philippine coast guard ships in the disputed waters before, this was the first time it used lasers and caused physical suffering among Filipino personnel, said Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Armand Balilo.
"The Chinese ship illuminated the green laser light twice toward the BRP Malapascua, causing temporary blindness to her crew at the bridge," the Philippine statement said.
The Philippine vessel was forced to move away from the area, where it was escorting a supply vessel that was delivering food and sailors to a Philippine navy sentry ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, which has been marooned on Second Thomas Shoal since 1999, the coast guard said.
"The deliberate blocking of the Philippine government ships to deliver food and supplies to our military personnel on board the BRP Sierra Madre is a blatant disregard for, and a clear violation of, Philippine sovereign rights in this part of the West Philippine Sea," the coast guard said, using the name the Philippines has adopted for the stretch of waters close to its western coast.