China Coast Guard fires water cannons on Filipino fishermen in Escoda Shoal; 3 injured, 2 boats wrecked

By Nash Villena, Philippine Canadian Inquirer
December 13, 2025

HARASSMENT. A China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel firing water cannons at small Filipino fishing boats at the Escoda Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on Friday (Dec. 12, 2025). (Screengrab from Philippine Coast Guard/Facebook)

MANILA, Philippines — The Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) harassed Filipino fishermen at the disputed Escoda Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) on Friday afternoon, December 12.

According to reports, around 20 Filipino fishing boats were provoked by Chinese vessels for three hours through water cannons, dangerous blocking maneuvers, and the cutting of anchor lines.

Three Filipino fishermen were injured, and two fishing boats were damaged from the CCG’s high-pressure blasting of water cannons.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) promptly deployed its multi-role response vessels MRRV-4403 and MRRV-4411 to the area afterward to provide assistance to affected Filipinos.

The PCG also said it is now maintaining “a security presence with partner vessels to protect the fishermen” and has provided them with medical aid and supplies.

In an ABS-CBN interview, PCG spokesperson for WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela noted that this is the first time the Chinese vessels have dangerously targeted Filipino fishermen with water cannons amid the tension in the West Philippine Sea.

“Ito lamang ang unang pagkakataon na [they] directly hit the boats of our Filipino fishing boats. Because before, ang ginagawa lamang ng China’s coast guard is kumbaga tinatakot lang ang ating mga mangingisdang Pilipino for them to be threatened and intimidated to continue their fishing,” Tarriela said.

(This is the first time the CCG has directly hit the boats of our Filipino fishing boats. Because before, China’s coast guard would usually threaten and intimidate our Filipino fishmen to continue their fishing in the area.) 

“Ang pinakadelikado dito is ‘yong kaligtasan ng ating mangingisda dahil ‘yong bangkang sinasakyan nila these [are indigenous wooden boat] so try to imagine itong mga bangka na gamit nila na pangisdaan ay gawa lamang sa kahoy and you can just [see] from the video na very powerful blast of water ‘yong lumabas dito sa water cannon nila,” he added.

(The most at harm here is the safety of our fishermen because their boats are made out of indigenous wood, so you could just imagine their fishing boats being fired by very powerful blasts of water from their water cannons, based on what you could see from the video.)

Escoda Shoal is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), approximately 150 kilometers off the coast of Palawan.