China-Philippines sea dispute: Philippines demands China cease 'unlawful' activities
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00:00 Fresh tensions over a long-standing dispute.
00:05 This video released by the Philippine Coast Guard shows their Chinese counterparts blasting
00:10 a water cannon at a Philippine supply boat.
00:13 The vessel was on its way to deliver provisions to Philippine troops stationed on Second Thomas
00:18 Shoal, a submerged reef in the South China Sea.
00:22 Then, in a move Manila has labelled excessive and offensive, the Chinese Coast Guard appears
00:28 to block the supply boat's path.
00:30 Speaking to the press on Monday, the Philippines said Beijing had no right whatsoever to impede
00:35 its vessels.
00:36 "We demand that the government of the People's Republic of China immediately cease and desist
00:44 all its coercive, unlawful and unacceptable activities in the West Philippine Sea."
00:52 China for its part said the Philippines' boats had illegally entered its waters.
00:57 Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, an assertion rejected internationally.
01:02 The United States, the European Union and key allies like Australia and Japan all expressed
01:08 support for Manila in the wake of the incident.
01:11 The US State Department said the manoeuvres were unwarranted interference in lawful Philippine
01:16 maritime operations.
01:18 Such actions by the People's Republic of China are inconsistent with international law.
01:23 They are the latest in repeated threats to the status quo in the South China Sea, directly
01:28 threatening regional peace and stability.
01:31 The Philippine military has occupied Second Thomas Shoal since 1999, when it deliberately
01:37 marooned a Navy ship on the reef.
01:40 China has long demanded the ship's removal and has in the past used lasers and water
01:45 cannons to prevent Manila from delivering supplies to the atoll.