Chinese aggression threat to...

Kazuhiko also wrote on X, "[It's] Totally unacceptable any harassment and actions which infringe on lawful activities of the sea and endanger the navigational safety."

"We strongly support [the] Philippines' position; upholding maritime order based on Unclos (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) and 2016 Arbitral Award," Koshikawa said.

European Union Ambassador to Manila Luc Veron, on the same platform said he was "very concerned about dangerous action" in the South China Sea.

"[The] EU stands with [the] Philippines in upholding the rulesbased international order. The EU supports the legally binding nature of the 2016 South China Sea arbitration," Veron said.

Ambassador of Australia to Manila Hae Kyong Yu said Canberra is concerned about the latest actions directed against the Philippines, which "are dangerous and destabilizing."

"We reiterate our call for peace, stability, and respect for Unclos in the South China Sea — a vital international waterway," Yu said in a separate post.

The U.S. reaffirmed that an armed attack on Philippine public vessels, aircraft, and armed forces — including those of its Coast Guard in the South China Sea — "would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments under Article 4 of the 1951 U.S. Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty."

"Firing water cannons and employing unsafe blocking maneuvers, PRC ships interfered with the Philippines' lawful exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and jeopardized the safety of the Philippine vessels and crew," the U.S. State Department said.

It added that by preventing provisions from reaching the Filipino soldiers stationed at Ayungin Shoal, China has also "undertaken unwarranted interference in lawful Philippine maritime operations."

Condemned

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Sunday, August 6 strongly condemned the China Coast Guard for firing a water cannon at a boat bringing supplies to Philippine soldiers on Ayungin Shoal.

In a statement, AFP spokesman Col. Medel Aguilar said the incident happened last Saturday, August 5.

The incident was denounced by Philippine allies and members of the Senate.

Aguilar confirmed that the boat, which was chartered for a routine resupply mission to Ayungin, was blocked by a Chinese coast guard vessel. The Chinese ship then turned a water cannon on the boat.

Aguilar said the China Coast Guard's action was "in wanton disregard of the safety of the people on board and in violation of international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Award."

He said a second supply boat was not able to complete its Rotation and Reprovisioning (RORE) mission.

"We call on the China Coast Guard to act with prudence and be responsible in their actions to prevent miscalculations and accidents that will endanger