PCG Says China Uses Water Cannons That Could Kill

CHINA – A Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) official said China Coast Guard (CCG) ships potentially used deadly water cannons.

According to a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) official, this week marked the first instance of China Coast Guard (CCG) ships using high-pressure water cannons, which pose a potential threat to life, on two government vessels heading to Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) to provide aid to Filipino fishermen.

Based on a report from Inquirer, commodore Jay Tarriela, the PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, reported that the force of the water cannon attacks was so intense that it caused damage to the steel railing and distorted the frame of a canopy on the PCG’s BRP Bagacay.

Maritime security experts suggest that these recent water cannon assaults by CCG ships against Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), coinciding with the “Balikatan” military exercises between Manila and Washington, are likely aimed at testing the strength of their alliance.

Furthermore, it caused harm to the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electrical, navigation, and radio systems of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel BRP Bankaw, according to him. Fortunately, none of the crew aboard the Filipino vessels, nor the Filipino and foreign journalists accompanying them, sustained injuries during the attacks on Tuesday.

READ ALSO: China Fired PH Vessel w/ Water Cannon in West Philippine Sea — Will They Ever Stop?

As per SeaLight at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, a high-pressure blast of 220 pounds per square inch (PSI) from a water cannon mounted on a ship could readily topple ship crew members, potentially causing them to collide with steel bulkheads or be thrown overboard into the sea.

“Well, if we are going to look at how it bent the railing of the Philippine Coast Guard vessels because of the water cannon, obviously that would be very fatal,” Tarriela said at a press briefing in Manila.

According to a GMA News reporter aboard the Bagacay, the force of the CCG water cannon blast was “powerful enough to noticeably shake the pilot house,” where he and fellow individuals sought refuge.

“This is the first time that the coast guard vessel has been subject to a direct water cannon with that kind of pressure that even resulted in structural damage,” Tarriela said.

“It just goes to show that Goliath is becoming more Goliath. They don’t hesitate to use brute force to violate international law,” he added.

Tarriela noted that it was not an “armed attack” since the Chinese only used water cannons.

“The only difference is perhaps they are increasing the PSI, the pressure of the water, but as far as the Coast Guard is concerned, this is still not an armed attack,” he added.