Vietnam, PCG use water cannon in West Philippine Sea drills

Philippine Coast Guard’s BRP Gabriela Silang (OPV-8301) and Vietnam Coast Guard’s CSB 8002 use their water cannons to put out a fire in a vessel in the West Philippine Sea. SCREENGRAB FROM PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD’S VIDEO

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and their counterparts in Vietnam employed water cannons during their drills in the West Philippine Sea on Friday, a move that an expert said sends a strong message against China.

But unlike Beijing, which has used water cannons to derail the maritime operations of Manila and Hanoi, the coast guard of both nations employed it for fire and explosion prevention purposes.

PCG’s BRP Gabriela Silang (OPV-8301) and Vietnam Coast Guard’s CSB 8002 conducted the water cannon practice within the vicinity of Corregidor Island.

Both vessels also conducted search and rescue as well as passing exercises in the area.

Security expert Chester Cabalza told INQUIRER.net that both countries are sending a “bolder yet quieter message to Beijing” by conducting such drills.

Cabalza, president and founder of Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, also said: “This serves as a lesson for various claimant-countries in the disputed waterway for putting value on trust and confidence, and embracing cooperation than coercion in the complex maritime security in the region.

“If the Philippines and Vietnam will succeed in this calculated maritime endeavor with the non-participation of big and small non-claimant nations … a greater optimism is foreseen, as China may rethink its unilateral option of claiming the entirety of the South China Sea,” he further said.

Manila and Hanoi maintain close diplomatic ties despite their overlapping claims in the maritime features in the South China Sea, parts of which it refers to as the West Philippine Sea and East Sea, respectively.

Both countries experienced hostile actions from China, which asserts sovereignty in the entire South China Sea despite a landmark international ruling effectively dismissing its claims.

READ: ‘Barbaric’: 2 new reports of Chinese harassment

Beijing resorted to the usage of water cannons to thwart Manila’s resupply mission in the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, a move its officials said was done to prevent the bringing of construction materials for the naval outpost.

China also used water cannons against Vietnam, and the latter retaliated with the same tactic.

READ: Report: Vietnam, China vessels fire water cannons