The Office of the President of the Philippines released a statement criticizing Chinese maritime forces for repetitive and illegal actions in the South China Sea on Monday.

The presidential office’s security forum, the National Security Council of the Philippines, also shared a press statement, describing that a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel, BRP Datu Sanday (MMOV 3002), was targeted by Chinese Coast Guard ships on Sunday. The vessel was attacked by water cannons while in the Sabina Shoal, which aimed to obstruct Philippine fisheries from receiving fuel, food and medicine, according to the release.

The Philippines National Maritime Council questioned China’s cooperation in reducing tensions between states, and the Office of the President says China has overlooked the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the 2016 Arbitral Award regarding the South China Sea, and international law that protects ships and aircraft.

Both the US and Japan denounced China’s hostility in the South China Sea, with the former stating it is open to escorting Philippine ships. The US Department of State had previously shown support on August 19, 2024 in a press statement, confirming its commitment to Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, which states that both countries will back the other if attacked.

Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) spokesperson Gan Yu claimed that a Philippine vessel had ignored warnings by China, deliberately sailed towards a CCG ship in the Sabina Shoal and was part of a minor collision. Gan also stated that the Philippines has breached the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

Asia-Pacific countries were unsettled after China’s Ministry of National Resources distributed a map that claimed most of the South China Sea in 2023. The Philippines and China have disputed control of maritime territory in the South China Sea for years. In 2011, governments of the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia, Taiwan and China agreed on the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. The declaration was made to settle maritime and territorial disputes through diplomatic measures, restrict force and aid parties in implementing self-restraint in accordance with recognized international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.