The Chinese ships were determined to stop us, and there were a lot of them – at one point of time there were 10 of them from the coast guard and maritime militia.
The Filipino captain relied on the speed and manoeuvrability of his Japanese-made ship to outrun the Chinese, and got to within 600m of the shoal, the closest yet, he told us.
But there was a new barrier installed recently by the Chinese, just visible under the water. Their ships were right behind us, two positioning themselves on either side of the Filipino ship, at which they began firing their powerful water cannon.
We were rushed inside, from where we could hear the jets of water thundering against the metal walls of the ship. They smashed the awning in the stern, and mangled a railing on one side.
The second ship in our convoy, carrying supplies for Filipino fishermen, was more badly damaged, after taking 10 direct hits from the water cannon.
This game of maritime cat-and-mouse is nothing new in the South China Sea. But these encounters have become more frequent, and more serious, since President Bongbong Marcos authorised the coastguard to challenge the Chinese presence in disputed areas far more robustly than in the past.
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