China Coast Guard boats and a Chinese navy helicopter harassed a group of Philippine fisheries vessels conducting a scientific survey in a hotly disputed area of the South China Sea, forcing them to cancel the operation, the Philippine Coast Guard said yesterday.
Beijing has repeatedly asserted sovereignty over most of the South China Sea and accused rival claimant states, including Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia of encroachment. China has demarcated its territorial claims with a 10 dashed-line printed on maps, but has not provided the exact coordinates.
The incident took place on Friday near Sandy Cay (Dunqian Cay, 敦謙沙洲), three small uninhabited sandbars flanked by an artificial island base of Chinese forces and a Philippines-occupied island in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) archipelago, the coast guard said.
Photo: Philippine Coast Guard via AP
The China Coast Guard ships approached two larger vessels, which maneuvered to avoid a collision, and a navy helicopter flew low over two smaller boats deployed by the ships, forcing the survey to be called off.
A China Coast Guard statement said that it drove the Philippine ships away after they entered the waters without China’s permission and attempted to land on the cay and conduct sand sampling.
Manila said the Chinese navy helicopter “hovered at an unsafe altitude” above the Philippine fisheries agency’s inflatable boats, “creating hazardous conditions due to the propeller wash.”
“As a result of this continuous harassment and the disregard for safety exhibited by the Chinese maritime forces,” the Philippine Coast Guard said it and the fisheries agency “regrettably suspended their survey operations and were unable to collect sand samples” from unoccupied sandbars off the Philippine-held Thitu Island (Jhongye Island, 中業島).
Videos released by the Philippine Coast Guard show a Chinese coast guard ship sailing close to a vessel officials identified as belonging to the Philippines.
Another video shows a Chinese military helicopter hovering low over the rough seas near a vessel flying a Philippine flag.
Additional reporting by Reuters
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
‘ARMED GROUP’: Two defendants used Chinese funds to form the ‘Republic of China Taiwan Military Government,’ posing a threat to national security, prosecutors said A retired lieutenant general has been charged after using funds from China to recruit military personnel for an “armed” group that would assist invading Chinese forces, prosecutors said yesterday. The retired officer, Kao An-kuo (高安國), was among six people indicted for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), the High Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement. The group visited China multiple times, separately and together, from 2018 to last year, where they met Chinese military intelligence personnel for instructions and funding “to initiate and develop organizations for China,” prosecutors said. Their actions posed a “serious threat” to “national security and social stability,” the statement
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
NATURAL INTERRUPTION: As cables deteriorate, core wires snap in progression along the cable, which does not happen if they are hit by an anchor, an official said Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) immediately switched to a microwave backup system to maintain communications between Taiwan proper and Lienchiang County (Matsu) after two undersea cables malfunctioned due to natural deterioration, the Ministry of Digital Affairs told an emergency news conference yesterday morning. Two submarine cables connecting Taiwan proper and the outlying county — the No. 2 and No. 3 Taiwan-Matsu cables — were disconnected early yesterday morning and on Wednesday last week respectively, the nation’s largest telecom said. “After receiving the report that the No. 2 cable had failed, the ministry asked Chunghwa Telecom to immediately activate a microwave backup system, with
RSS