Philippine coastguard hits out at China’s ‘brute force’ after water cannon attack
China has been branded “a bully” and an international lawbreaker after its ships blasted Philippine vessels with water cannon in the South China Sea.
Sky News was on board the BRP Bagacay when a Chinese vessel fired water at it, causing significant damage.
Philippine coastguard spokesman Jay Tarriela told Sky News that this week’s confrontation was the first time China had used “such aggression” against their ships.
“The metal parts and the railing were bent. The canopy was also destroyed. So this came as a surprise for us that China never hesitated to use brute force,” he said.
“It completely justifies us calling The People’s Republic of China a bully country.”
Jay Tarriela, a spokesman for the Philippine Coastguard, told Sky News that China is a ‘bully’
The Philippine coastguard was on a resupply mission to the Scarborough Shoal to deliver food and fuel to Philippine fishermen when they were struck.
The submerged reef lies in disputed waters. China claims sovereignty over the reef but it is much closer to the Philippines and lies within its legally recognised exclusive economic zone.
The vessel Sky News was on board was the closest the coastguard had ever been to the shoal – just 600 metres away from it.
Asked if the mission to the shoal was a provocative move by the Philippine coastguard, Commodore Tarriela denied they were “poking the bear” but rather “driving the bear out of our own territory”.
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Sky witnesses China-Philippine confrontation
The Philippines has been stepping up its patrols in the area under the instruction of President Bongbong Marcos, and reasserting its claim to the shoal in recent months.
It has raised the spectre of open conflict. While neither side currently wants that, there is now a greater threat of open conflict.
Asked what the end game was for the Philippines, Commodore Tarriela said their priority was to “tell the world” about China’s aggression.
China’s coastguard fired water at Philippine coastguard vessel BRP Bagacay while Sky was onboard
He said their secondary goal was to ensure “like-minded states” also made China “fall in line and respect international law”.
“Otherwise, it’s everybody’s loss,” he added.
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Philippine government policy is not to resist using water cannon against Chinese vessels – and Commodore Tarriela insisted that policy remains in place after the confrontation.
The government also remains intensely determined to protect the waters it believes it has every right to operate in.
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“We’re not going to yield and we’re not going to surrender a square inch of our territory,” Commodore Tarriela insisted.
Beijing has called the action its own coastguard took as “necessary”.
Speaking at the Chinese foreign ministry’s daily news conference, spokesperson Lin Jian described the coastguard’s conduct as “professional, proper, and lawful”.
A British tourist has been stabbed to death outside a nightclub near Barcelona.
The incident happened at about 4am this morning in Calella, about 30 miles away from the city.
Police have confirmed that there was a fatality, and another person was injured and taken to hospital.
According to El Caso, there was a fight outside the Oxygen nightclub and the tourist died at the scene.
In a statement, Catalan police said it is “investigating the violent death of a 31-year-old man”.
Another man has been arrested in connection with the incident, and footage from security cameras in the area is being checked.
Sky News has contacted the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office for comment.
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World
Roberto Baggio: Former Italian football star robbed at gunpoint while watching Italy-Spain game
Retired Italian football star Roberto Baggio has been robbed at gunpoint while watching the national team play Spain at Euro 2024.
At least five armed robbers burst into Baggio’s villa near the northern city of Vicenza around 10pm local time (9pm BST) on Thursday, according to Italian media reports.
One intruder hit the 57-year-old on the head with the butt of a gun when the former player confronted them.
Roberto Baggio in 2015. File pic: AP
The robbers locked him and his family in a room while they stole jewellery, watches and cash during the raid, which reportedly lasted 40 minutes.
Baggio was taken to hospital and received stitches for the wound. None of his family were harmed.
Italian sports newspaper Corriere dello Sport said Baggio had a “very brief” scuffle with one of the intruders and he suffered a “deep wound” after being hit on the forehead with the weapon.
Baggio, it said, broke down the door of the room he and his family were locked in before calling police.
He was, the paper said, “very scared”, but was not seriously hurt.
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Known as ‘The Divine Ponytail’ during his playing career, Baggio was a gifted attacking midfielder who played 56 games for Italy, scoring 27 goals and starring in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups.
Widely regarded as an all-time great, he played for Vicenza in his youth, going on to star for other Serie A clubs such as Fiorentina, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan.
Spain won Thursday night’s Euro 2024 match, beating Italy 1-0 and securing their place in the knockout stages of the tournament in Germany.
Helicopters, rescue dogs and drones have continued to scour the holiday island of Tenerife for a missing British teenager as concerned family and friends endure a “living nightmare”.
The hunt for 19-year-old Jay Slater from Oswaldtwistle, near Blackburn in Lancashire, is now in its fifth day.
The apprentice bricklayer was holidaying with friends on Tenerife before he disappeared on Monday.
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
He was last heard from when he called a friend to say he was setting off on an 11-hour walk to get home, after he missed his bus.
It came as new photographs showed the property where he was last seen in the northwestern mountain village of Masca after attending the NRG music festival.
In a post on the Facebook page “Jay Slater Missing”, the administrator of the group Rachel Louise Harg said family and friends were “drained beyond words”.
She said: “There isn’t an update for anyone unfortunately.
“Struggling to find words at this time but all I can say is we are looking still and everyone is doing all they can.
“We are drained beyond words – I just can’t say no more, I wish I could.
“I wish this would end now, this living nightmare.
“Searches are ongoing and we remain positive.
“Thanks to you all supporting and helping we can’t thank you any more, much love.”
Read more on Sky News:
British tourist stabbed to death outside nightclub
Italian football legend robbed at gunpoint
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
On Friday, search and rescue personnel joined officers from the island’s Guardia Civil near Masca to comb an area of overgrown terrain.
Teams also paid close attention to a river called Barranco Madre del Agua at the bottom of a ravine, where emergency workers carefully picked their way through fallen dead palm trees.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Mr Slater’s friend Lucy Law, who attended the music festival with him, said he called her at about 8.30am on Monday and told her he was “lost in the mountains, he wasn’t aware of his surroundings, he desperately needed a drink and his phone was on 1%”.
Meanwhile, members of the local community rallied together at a church service in his home town to express their hope of his safe return.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.”
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