‘Get Out!’ China Menaces a Boat in Disputed Waters

[yuiyoshida]

A Chinese Coast Guard ship follows the Motoryacht Isla after it was ordered to leave the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, June 18, 2016. The Chinese Coast Guard quickly intercepted the boat as it reached the Scarborough Shoal, part of the country's efforts to strengthen its claim of sovereignty over the South China Sea. (Sergey Ponomarev/ © 2016 The New York Times)

SCARBOROUGH SHOAL, South China Sea--We could see the glistening turquoise waters in the distance, a haven where deep-sea waves soften and, fishermen say, the grouper and snapper could feed a village for eternity.

But guarding the waters, the mouth of Scarborough Shoal, was a 130-foot Chinese coast guard ship. If we were to get more than a glimpse of this speck of coral and rock--the latest potential point of contention between China and the United States in the South China Sea--our boat would have to be quick.

Capt. Alex O. Tagapan, who usually takes tourists on sightseeing cruises, steered toward the entrance of the boomerang-shaped atoll and accelerated. Turning to a small statue of Santo Niño de Cebú, a patron saint of the Philippines known for miraculous powers, he prayed.

Within minutes, the Chinese sent a speedboat painted with the coast guard’s red stripes racing toward us. “Get out! Get out!” a man on the boat wearing a bamboo hat and an orange vest shouted in English, waving his arms.

Over the past two years, China has worked to strengthen its claim of sovereignty over the South China Sea, dredging sand to turn scattered reefs and atolls into islands despite protests from neighbors and the United States.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/SDI201607111559.html