A Chinese vessel and a Philippine supply ship collided yesterday near the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) in the South China Sea, China’s coast guard said, in the latest flare-up of escalating territorial disputes that have sparked alarm.
The coast guard said a Philippine supply ship entered waters near Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙), a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands, part of a territory claimed by several nations.
The Philippines says the shoal falls within its internationally recognized exclusive economic zone and often cites a 2016 international arbitration ruling invalidating China’s expansive South China Sea claims based on historical grounds.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The Chinese coast guard said the Philippine craft “ignored China’s repeated solemn warnings ... and dangerously approached a Chinese vessel in normal navigation in an unprofessional manner, resulting in a collision.”
“The Philippines is entirely responsible for this,” the coast guard said in its statement.
Meanwhile, the Philippine military called the Chinese coast guard’s report “deceptive and misleading,” and said it would “not discuss operational details on the legal humanitarian rotation and resupply mission at Ayungin Shoal, which is well within our exclusive economic zone.”
It used the Philippine name for the shoal, where Filipino navy personnel have transported food, medicine and other supplies to a long-grounded warship that has served as a territorial outpost.
Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr said his nation’s armed forces would resist “China’s dangerous and reckless behavior,” which “contravenes their statements of good faith and decency.”
“We will exert our utmost in order to fulfill our sworn mandate to protect our territorial integrity, sovereignty and sovereign rights,” Teodoro said. “It should now be clear to the international community that China’s actions are the true obstacles to peace and stability in the South China Sea.”
Two speedboats — attempting to deliver construction materials and other supplies to a military vessel stationed at the shoal — accompanied the supply ship, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, describing its coast guard’s maneuver as “professional, restrained, reasonable and lawful.”
Several incidents have happened near the shoal which lies less than 200 nautical miles (370km) from the Philippines coast and where it maintains an outpost aboard the BRP Sierra Madre, which had been encrusted with rust since it was deliberately grounded in 1999, but remains an actively commissioned military vessel, meaning an attack on it could be considered by the Philippines as an act of war.
A new Chinese law, which took effect on Saturday, authorizes its coast guard to seize foreign ships “that illegally enter China’s territorial waters” and to detain foreign crews for up to 60 days. The law renewed a reference to 2021 legislation that says the coast guard can fire upon foreign ships if necessary.
At least three governments with claims to the waters — Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam — have said they would not recognize the law.
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