Philippines says Chinese ship “struck” government ship in South China Sea, Beijing accuses of violating international law | Today’s news
A Chinese coast guard vessel reportedly rammed a Philippine ship on a supply mission in the South China Sea on Friday in the latest confrontation between the two countries in the disputed waters. Damage was reported to its railings and deck structures, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.
Meanwhile, China’s Global Times quoted the official CCG WeChat account as saying that a Philippine vessel “collided with a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel near Xianbin Jiao in China’s Nansha Qundao on Friday after it ignored repeated warnings and cut its bow.”
No one was injured in the incident.
what exactly happened
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel BRP Datu Magat Salamat was on a mission to distribute fuel to Filipino fishermen about 54 nautical miles off the coast of Palawan province when the Chinese Coast Guard vessel made a series of dangerous maneuvers and made contact with the Philippine ship.
“The Chinese Coast Guard deliberately rammed a civilian government vessel on a humanitarian and livelihood mission,” it said in a statement, according to Reuters.
In a video released by PCG, crew members were seen shouting “prepare for impact!” moments before the crash, which happened at 11:13 a.m. (0313 GMT).
Photos taken after the impact showed bent and separated railings, damaged metal supports and debris strewn across the deck, Reuters reported.
China warns the Philippines
China’s coast guard said in a statement that it conducted enforcement operations in waters near Sabina Shoal on Friday after the Philippine vessel “disregarded repeated serious warnings, deliberately changed its course and suddenly accelerated to cut across the bow of our vessel.”
It said the Chinese ship acted professionally and that the Philippine side was to blame for the collision.
“The CCG vessel Sanzhou’ao was conducting lawful rights protection and law enforcement operations in the area on Friday when the Philippine vessel 3015 deliberately changed course and suddenly accelerated to cut the bow diagonally, resulting in a collision,” said Jiang Lue, CCG spokesman, as quoted by the Global Times.
“The actions of the Philippine vessel seriously violated international law and basic norms governing international relations and threatened the safety of CCG vessels and personnel, Jiang said. The operations of the Chinese vessel were professional, standardized, reasonable and lawful, so the responsibility rested solely on the Philippine side,” he added.
“We strongly warn the Philippine side to immediately stop all acts of violation and provocation, or bear all the consequences,” Jiang said.
In July, Manila accused Beijing of firing water cannons at government vessels near Scarborough Shoal and hitting a Philippine navy personnel in the head with a wooden baton during an encounter at Second Thomas Shoal.
