“Such risky behaviour by the Philippine side is highly prone to causing unexpected incidents at sea or in the air,” Gan said in a statement released on Thursday.
“We urge the Philippine side to immediately cease its risky actions as well as propaganda and hype, immediately withdraw vessel 9701 on its own and refrain from miscalculating the situation and escalating the situation, otherwise the Philippine side will be held fully responsible for all consequences arising therefrom.”
China’s defence ministry issued a similar statement on Thursday warning Manila not to test Beijing’s patience.
“China is committed to properly managing differences through dialogue and consultation, but there is a limit to our patience,” said Wu Qian, the ministry’s spokesman.
“The Philippine side should take immediate action to remove its vessels and personnel from Sabina Shoal and restore it to an uninhabited and facility-free state.”
Wu further accused the US of being the “biggest black hand stirring up the situation in the South China Sea and the biggest destroyer of peace and stability in the South China Sea” by “encouraging, supporting and endorsing” actions by the Philippine side.
The Chinese and Philippine coastguards have engaged in repeated stand-offs over Sabina Shoal since April, when the Philippines sent the BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) to the shoal. It has been anchored at the contested Spratly atoll ever since.
The 97-meter multi-role response ship, which was only commissioned two years ago, is the largest and most modern vessel of the Philippine Coast Guard.
The Chinese Coast Guard, meanwhile, sent its own response vessels, including the world’s largest coastguard ship, the 12,000-tonne CCG 5901, to monitor the situation.
Sabina Shoal – called Xianbin Reef by China and Escoda Shoal by the Philippines – forms part of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. It is located within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone but is also claimed by China.
Over the past week, several incidents at sea have been reported as the Philippines tried to send supplies to the BRP Teresa Magbanua but was blocked by the Chinese side.
Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela on Tuesday said food supplies and provisions for the more than 10 crewmen aboard the ship were “at critical level”.
He accused the Chinese side of using a water cannon against a Philippine fisheries bureau vessel on Sunday.
In total 40 Chinese ships were deployed on Monday to prevent two Philippine Coast Guard vessels from getting close to the shoal, Tarriela added.
But Gan said the BRP Teresa Magbanua was fully functional and capable of leaving the area on its own and that doing so would “solve the problems [of supplies] easily”.
The CCG spokesman said the Philippine side had “gambled with the health and lives of the officers and soldiers” aboard MRRV-9701, using “‘humanitarianism’ as an excuse to carry out ‘risky infringement’ of China’s indisputable” rights.
“The China Coast Guard is on standby and fully prepared to resolutely safeguard the country’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” Gan added.
The latest run-in over Sabina Shoal came as US Indo-Pacific Command chief Admiral Samuel Paparo met General Romero Brawner Jnr, chief of the Philippine armed forces, in the Philippine city of Baguio to discuss security challenges and military plans at an annual meeting, according to an Associated Press report.
When asked about recent Chinese activities in the disputed waters, Paparo on Thursday said American forces were ready with a “range of options” to deal with increasing acts of aggression in the South China Sea if ordered to carry them out jointly and after consultations with the Philippines, a US treaty ally.
