Ships from China and the Philippines are reported to have collided near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, amid escalating maritime tensions between the two countries.
Both sides traded accusations on Tuesday, with China claiming that the Philippines had rammed one of its coastguard vessels in the area.
For its part, the Philippine Coast Guard said Chinese “aggressive actions” had damaged one of its vessels and injured one of its personnel, who sustained injuries from glass that was shattered by a Chinese water cannon.
A China Coast Guard spokesperson confirmed that it had used water cannon after the arrival of 10 Philippine boats, which it suggested were there “illegally”.
“The China Coast Guard lawfully implemented control measures against the Philippine ships,” Gan Yu said, noting this also included giving verbal warnings and route restrictions.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard said its vessels had met with aggression from nine Chinese vessels when they arrived at the shoal to resupply more than 35 of its country’s fishing boats.
A spokesperson for the Philippine Maritime Council told the Reuters news agency there was “no truth” to China’s claim that it had taken control measures against the Philippine ships, adding it was “another case of Chinese disinformation and propaganda”.
The latest incident at the shoal, which is called Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines, comes less than a week after Beijing said it would turn the 8,650-acre disputed atoll into a nature reserve to guarantee “diversity, stability and sustainability”.
The Philippines and its allies condemned China for the decision, which they say has little to do with promoting biodiversity and more to do with expansionism.
The Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs said the following day that it would launch a “formal diplomatic protest against this illegitimate and unlawful action”.
The United States also hit out at the move, with its Secretary of State Marco Rubio taking to X to reject what he called China’s “destabilising plans” for Scarborough Reef, which lies 240km (150 miles) west of Luzon, the Philippines’ main island.
The Canadian embassy in the Philippines took the same position, suggesting that China’s “attempts to use environmental protection” were a cover for taking control of the shoal.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, and has unresolved maritime disputes with many countries in the region, including the Philippines and Vietnam.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that Beijing’s claims were not backed by international law, a conclusion rejected by Beijing.
Last week, China warned the Philippines not to provoke it in the South China Sea, referencing joint military drills carried out with the US and Japan there last week.
“Any attempt to stir up trouble or disrupt the situation will not succeed,” said a spokesperson for the Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command.
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