China’s maritime patrol ships deployed a suspected sonic weapon against Philippine government vessels on Saturday as they sought to obstruct a Philippines supply mission.
The assault using unspecified “acoustic devices” allegedly inflicted “severe temporary discomfort” on Philippine crew members, Manila said, and was accompanied by sustained water cannon blasts as well as maneuvering that risked a collision.
The incident happened near Scarborough Shoal, one of the most contentious features in the Philippines and China’s long-running territorial feud in the South China Sea since the latter achieved facto control there in 2012 by force.
China continues to block Philippine fishermen from accessing traditional fishing grounds at Scarborough Shoal, while the Philippines says it is their right to fish there under international law. Philippine fisheries bureau boats were attempting to deliver humanitarian supplies, including food and fuel, to the waiting fishermen.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The assault using unspecified “acoustic devices” allegedly inflicted “severe temporary discomfort” on Philippine crew members, Manila said, and was accompanied by sustained water cannon blasts as well as maneuvering that risked a collision.
Ships belonging to China’s paramilitary maritime militia fleet engaged in unsafe maneuvers and “deployed what is understood to be a long-range acoustic device” against the government vessels, the multi-agency National Task Force of the West Philippine Sea said Saturday.
Sometimes known as “sonic cannons,” acoustic devices have been adopted as non-lethal defensive weapons by a number of militaries, as well as crowd control tools by some police forces.
The U.S. State Department, which said China’s use of the sonic weapon showed a “reckless disregard for the safety and livelihoods of Filipinos,” didn’t respond to a request seeking further details about the nature of the acoustic devices.
A second confrontation occurred on Sunday near another hotly disputed South China Sea feature—Second Thomas Shoal—as Chinese ships sought to head off the Philippines’ latest supply mission to a grounded warship where a group of sailors are based.
A minor collision also occurred when a Chinese coast guard vessel allegedly maneuvered into the path of another Philippine supply boat, although the latter managed to continue on its mission.
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