The Philippine military says a Filipino sailor lost a thumb in a violent confrontation with the Chinese coast guard in the South China Sea.
The Philippine military says Chinese coast guard officers armed with swords, spears, and knives rammed its navy boats in the disputed waters of the South China Sea .The Philippine military chief denounced the Chinese action as "piracy" and demanded the return of seized weapons and equipment, as well as reparations for damaged items.
Filipino military chief General Romeo Brawner alleged the Chinese boarders were armed with swords, spears and knives in the incident off Second Thomas Shoal. Images from China's Coast Guard shared by state media purported to show the confrontation on Monday, declaring: "The Chinese coast guard carried out boarding and inspection of a Philippine boat for the first time."
Top US diplomat Antony Blinken spoke with his Filipino counterpart on Wednesday about the recent "escalatory actions" by China, the State Department said in a statement. Second Thomas Shoal lies about 200 kilometres from the western Philippine island of Palawan and more than 1,000 kilometres from China's nearest major landmass, Hainan island.General Brawner described the incident after visiting the injured sailor in Palawan, saying Filipino personnel had "fought back with our bare hands" after Chinese Coast Guard personnel from eight vessels boarded their rigid-hulled inflatable boats.
He said communication and navigation equipment and an outboard motor were destroyed and the mobile phones of the Filipino crew were taken.
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