China says it ‘allowed’ Philippines to evacuate sick person from warship on contested shoal

Maroosha Muzaffar
·2-min read
China says it ‘allowed’ Philippines to evacuate sick person from warship on contested shoal

China’s coast guard claimed it “allowed” the Philippines to evacuate an ill soldier from a rusting warship on the contested Second Thomas Shoal on humanitarian grounds.

However, the Philippine coast guard called this claim “ridiculous” and accused China of illegal vessel deployment in their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Despite China’s assertion that it monitored the rescue operation at the Philippines’ request, the Philippine coast guard reported obstructive manoeuvres by its Chinese counterpart during the evacuation.

“The claim made by the People’s Republic of China that they have permitted a medical evacuation for a sick navy personnel, in order to present themselves as humanitarian while asserting their authority to allow such operation to be carried out in the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, is ridiculous,” Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson Jay Tarriela said on X.

He added: “This statement further confirms their illegal deployment of vessels within our EEZ and highlights their government’s view that the preservation of human life and welfare requires approval. Evidently, the deployment of numerous boats to delay the medical evacuation for hours just shows that they have a low regard for a humanitarian mission.”

The Chinese coast guard issued a statement claiming it had monitored the entire rescue operation on 7 July, stating it was carried out at the request of the Philippines. However, Philippines said China’s coast guard had engaged in “numerous obstructing and delaying manoeuvres” during the medical evacuation.

Almost a month ago, the Philippines denounced China’s “barbaric and inhumane” efforts to block a medical evacuation mission in the South China Sea last month.

The Philippines coast guard alleged that “despite informing the Chinese coast guard via radio and public address system about the humanitarian nature of our mission for medical evacuation they still engaged in dangerous manoeuvres and even intentionally rammed” a vessel “transporting the sick personnel”.

Philippine sailors eventually managed to evacuate the soldier to nearby Palawan, Mr Tarriela said at the time.

The countries have bickered extensively over the Spratly Islands – called Nansha Islands by China – the Second Thomas Shoal and Sabina Shoal. These small islands are located in the vast waterway, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce. The Philippines has soldiers living aboard a rusty, aging warship at the Second Thomas Shoal, which was deliberately grounded by Manila in 1999 to reinforce its maritime claims.

Additional reporting by agencies

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