MANILA—China should restrain its forces to prevent them committing any “provocative act,” the Philippine military said on Monday, after Manila accused China’s coast guard of using a laser to try to disrupt a resupply mission to troops in the South China Sea.
The Philippine coast guard (PCG) said its vessel was assisting a navy mission to deliver food and supplies to troops on an atoll in the disputed waterway on Feb. 6 when a Chinese coast guard ship directed a “military-grade laser” at the ship, temporarily blinding its crew on the bridge.
“I think it’s time for the Chinese government to restrain its forces so that it does not commit any provocative act that will endanger the lives of people,” military spokesperson Medel Aguilar told reporters….