THE China Coast Guard tried to block the medical evacuation of a soldier stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard said.Videos of the incident, which happened last May 19, were released by the PCG on Friday.The PCG said it had sent an inflatable boat to retrieve the soldier from a Philippine Navy speedboat, and had informed the China Coast Guard of the 'humanitarian nature' of the mission.
To assert its stance, Beijing deploys coast guard and other boats to patrol the waters and has turned several reefs into artificial islands that it has militarized.China Coast Guard vessels have used water cannon against Philippine boats multiple times in the contested waters, where there have also been collisions that injured several Filipino troops.President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a defiant speech at a security forum in Singapore last week that he would not yield to Chinese pressure.