Philippine naval vessels were involved in a clash with the Chinese coast guard on Saturday while attempting to resupply troops at a contested outpost in the .
A Philippine civilian boat, escorted by two navy ships and two coast guard vessels, was on a monthly supply run to a small number of Filipino marines stationed on the “Sierra Madre” – a warship intentionally run aground on the Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 in order to reinforce territorial claims in the area.
Manila says Chinese ships were ‘irresponsible’
According to a statement from the Philippine coast guard, one of its ships was “impeded” and “encircled” by a Chinese coast guard vessel and two ships from the Chinese maritime militia.
Philippine authorities said one of its vessels had been damaged by a water canon during the “dangerous maneuvers” undertaken by the Chinese, who it said had showed a “disregard” for the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS).
The statement accused he Chinese ships of “irresponsible and provocative behavior.”
, which claims most of the South China Sea as its territorial waters, has to monitor and disrupt efforts to resupply the “Sierra Madre” and described Saturday’s operation as “control measures.”
In a similar incident in March, Manila claimed that four Filipino sailors had been injured and two boats damaged.
No injuries have been reported this time.
Several countries compete for dominance in South China Sea
China has even constructed artificial islands in the region and fortified them to underline its claims.
A 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague determined that China’s sweeping claims over waters also claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have no legal basis.
mf/dj (Reuters, AFP)
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