“Only pirates do this,” a general said after Chinese coast guard armed with bladed weapons clashed with Philippine boats in the South China Sea

• A Philippine general called the Chinese coast guard pirates after a violent confrontation.

• The Chinese Coast Guard disrupted a Philippine resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal.

• Experts say it’s not piracy, but it’s still a worrying escalation.

The chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines accused China of behaving like pirates after members of the Chinese coast guard aggressively clashed with Philippine ships carrying out a supply mission on Monday, carrying bladed weapons.

“Only pirates do this,” said General Romeo Brawner Jr. in a social media post about the recent actions of the Chinese coast guard. “Only pirates board, steal and destroy ships, equipment and property.”

Beijing has blamed the Philippines for the incident, with a Foreign Ministry spokesperson saying Thursday that “the Philippine side is calling white black and falsely accusing China.”

Footage of the encounter showed China’s coast guard fleet surrounding Philippine ships in the South China Sea that were carrying out a resupply and rotation mission. The Chinese ships came closer and tensions flared. The incident marked an escalation amid months of clashes in the area.

In the videos, coast guard members are seen wielding knives and removing items from the Philippine ship.

The Philippine general added that crew members aboard the ambushed ships were outnumbered and “fought with their bare hands” against Chinese coast guard personnel.

Although the Chinese coast guard’s behavior documented by the Philippines is aggressive, it is not piracy, an expert explained, but it is still a serious problem.

The Chinese Coast Guard may have used pirate-like tactics, but legally this is not piracy. The incident did not take place on the high seas outside a country’s jurisdiction, and as Harrison Prétat, deputy director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Business Insider, it was not for monetary gain.

The Chinese coast guard “is trying to prevent the Philippines from supplying the BRP Sierra Madre, a ship that has been grounded on Second Thomas Shoal since 1999 and where the Philippines has a garrison of marines,” Prétat explained.

He added that the Permanent Court of Arbitration declared in 2016 that Second Thomas Shoal was part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. Therefore, the Philippines should be able to access Second Thomas and even build artificial structures there in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which China is a signatory to.

Although the country has signed the treaty, “China rejects the 2016 ruling and seeks to enforce its control over maritime activities within its nine-dash claim,” Prétat said. The nine-dash line is a map showing China’s sweeping and controversial claims to the South China Sea.

This is not the first time the Chinese coast guard has taken aggressive action against the Philippines at sea, especially over parts of the hotly contested Spratley Islands. In recent months, Chinese ships have also fired and even rammed water cannons at Philippine ships. Equipment was damaged and crew members were injured. But this week’s incident was remarkable and reached a new level.

According to other reporting on the incident, Brawner said the Chinese guards “took guns and other equipment and destroyed our equipment on board, including the engines. They punctured our rigid-hulled inflatable boats.” One of the Filipino crew members even lost his thumb in the incident.

“This latest incident is a significant escalation of recent tensions, which previously involved water cannons targeting Philippine civilian boats – this time the inflatable boat boarded and destroyed by Chinese personnel was a Philippine Navy vessel,” it said Pretat. That raises the stakes.

The maritime expert noted that the attack “could trigger U.S. obligations under the Mutual Defense Treaty.” Prétat said this could increase the risk of conflict between the US and China. However, Manila does not intend to invoke the treaty. It is a means to prevent further escalation, but the Philippines is demanding that China return seized equipment and pay damages.

U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson said in a post on

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