Recently, the Philippine authorities once again dispatched two coast guard ships and one supply ship to intrude into the waters adjacent to China's Ren'ai Jiao in an attempt to transport construction materials to the tank landing ship "Sierra Madre" "beached" on the shoals of Ren'ai Jiao, so as to "extend the life" of this old World War II ship and achieve the goal of long-term occupation of Ren'ai Jiao. In the official report of the mainland, the Philippine supply ship ignored the warnings of the Chinese coast guard and insisted on approaching Ren'ai Jiao, in response to which the Chinese coast guard decisively took measures to stop and drive away, successfully preventing the Philippines from attempting to transport construction materials to Ren'ai Jiao.
It can be seen from the aerial video released by the Philippine side that the Philippine UM-4 supply ship was intercepted by two Chinese coast guard law enforcement vessels, but the supply ship seems to be determined to rush to the "Sierra Madre" landing ship, directly ignoring the interception control of the Chinese coast guard. In order to allow the Philippine transport and replenishment ship to change course as soon as possible, the Chinese coast guard ships decisively activated the ship's high-pressure water cannon and carried out a water cannon attack on the Philippine ship at close range. According to statistics released by the Philippine side afterwards, the UM-4 supply ship was attacked by a total of eight high-pressure water cannons for nearly 20 minutes, which caused serious damage to the ship.
In the live video released by the authoritative media in the mainland, the Philippine UM-4 supply ship made an amazing move under the continuous impact of China's high-pressure level, and a Philippine crew member stretched his arm out of the cockpit and waved a white cloth (most likely white clothes) on his hand. At the same time as the Philippine crew raised the white flag, the UM-4 supply ship also stopped moving, and in view of this, the Chinese coast guard ship also lowered the water cannon fire range and suspended the impact on the Philippine ship.
Many people may think that water cannons are non-lethal weapons after all, and it is difficult to pose a substantial threat to invading Philippine ships, so why did the Philippine crew raise the white flag so quickly? In fact, although the range and power of the high-pressure water cannon are far inferior to the ship-based artillery, the destructive power of this water cannon at close range is also very amazing, and the pressure of the water column sprayed by the high-pressure water cannon system equipped by the China Coast Guard is as high as 145 megapascals, which is equivalent to applying 1450 kilograms of pressure per cubic centimeter, and this impact is particularly obvious for the lethality of wooden structure ships. The UM-4 dispatched by the Philippines this time is a wooden structure of the transport and replenishment ship, the overall structural strength is not high, and it will not last too long in the face of the high-pressure water cannon of the Chinese coast guard.
Sure enough, the latest status video of the UM-4 released by the Philippine side makes it clear how much damage the ship has suffered. In the GIF below, the superstructure of the UM-4 supply ship is already riddled with holes, the windshield is all shattered, the interior of the cabin is in a mess, and a complete structure cannot be found. What's more serious is that there is a large gap above the starboard waterline of the UM-4 supply ship, and seawater can almost pour into the interior of the cabin through this gap.
There is one detail that has caught the author's attention, that is, the party windglass of the wheelhouse of the Philippine transportation ship is covered by a number of horizontal and vertical planks, which obviously existed before this operation. In fact, at the beginning of this month, the Philippine UM-4 supply ship intruded into the waters adjacent to Ren'ai Jiao and was driven away by the Chinese coast guard's high-pressure water cannon. Therefore, we can infer that the Philippine UM-4 supply ship was requisitioned by the Philippine authorities before it had time to repair after the last damage, but the water cannon impact of the Chinese Coast Guard was more fierce than the last time, and if the Philippine crew did not raise the white flag and surrender, the UM-4 may never return to the Philippines.
In addition to the damage to the vessel, several Filipino crew members were also injured, and after the UM-4 supply vessel left the coastal waters of Ren'ai Jiao, the injured crew members were transported to the Philippine Coast Guard ship for treatment. It can be seen that in the event of serious damage to the ship and injuries to the crew, the Philippine crew can only raise the white flag to protect themselves, after all, for the Philippine crew members, their own lives are still more important than the financial rewards of the Philippine authorities.
The author believes that the Chinese coast guard's strong action to protect rights will have a certain deterrent effect on the relevant parties in the Philippines, and the Philippine authorities should also realize that if they continue to provoke China in the South China Sea, then China will inevitably take more deterrent actions to protect their rights, and it will only hurt the Philippines. At present, the only available UM-4 supply ship in the Philippines has been seriously damaged and cannot continue to carry out the replenishment mission for a short time, and the Philippines may stop at Second Thomas Shoal for a while, but we still need to continue to maintain a high level of vigilance and not give the Philippines any opportunity for illegal replenishment.