Chinese and Philippine coast guard ships collided at sea, damaging at least two vessels, in an encounter early yesterday near a new flash point in their increasingly alarming confrontations in the disputed South China Sea.
Each blamed the other for the collision near Sabina Shoal (Xianbin, 仙濱暗沙), a disputed atoll in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), where Taiwan and Vietnam also have overlapping claims.
There were no reports of injuries.
Photo: AFP / PCG
China’s coast guard accused the Philippines of deliberately crashing one of its ships into a Chinese vessel.
It said in a statement on its Web site that two Philippine Coast Guard ships entered waters near the shoal, ignored a warning from the Chinese coast guard and intentionally collided with one of the Chinese boats at 3:24am.
“The Philippine side is entirely responsible for the collision,” China Coast Guard spokesman Gan Yu (甘羽) said. “We warn the Philippine side to immediately stop its infringement and provocation, otherwise it will bear all the consequences arising from that.”
Photo: AFP / PCG
Philippine National Security Council Assistant Director-General Jonathan Malaya accused the Chinese coast guard of falsely saying the Philippine coast guard ships had rammed its vessels.
Video and photographs, including ones taken by journalists from a US television station who were on board one of the Philippine coast guard ships, showed that the Chinese ships caused the collisions, Malaya told a news forum in Manila.
The Philippines’ National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea said two of the coast guard ships, BRP Bagacay and BRP Cape Engano, “encountered unlawful and aggressive maneuvers” from Chinese coast guard vessels while en route to Patag and Lawak islands, which are occupied by Filipino forces, in the contested region.
“These dangerous maneuvers resulted in collisions, causing structural damage to both Philippine Coast Guard vessels,” the statement said.
The Philippine coast guard said one of the Chinese ships rammed the BRP Cape Engano, ripping a 1.1m hole on the right side.
An engine exhaust was also damaged, it said.
About 16 minutes later, BRP Bagacay was rammed twice on its left and right sides by another Chinese vessel, leaving a hole 91cm wide and 76cm long, and a dent that was 30.5cm deep, the Philippine coast guard said.
“This is the biggest structural damage we have incurred as a result of the dangerous maneuvers carried out by the Chinese coast guard,” Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela said at the news forum.
The task force said the Philippine coast guard “stands firm in its responsibility to ensure the safety and security of our maritime domain while addressing any threats to our national interests.”
In a separate statement, Gan said a Philippine ship that was turned away from Sabina Shoal entered waters near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙), ignoring the Chinese coast guard’s warnings.
“The Chinese coast guard took control measures against the Philippine ship in accordance with law and regulation,” he added.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
RSS