China and the Philippines have long disputed over territorial claims in the South China Sea. Now there has been a new incident involving several ships. Both countries blame each other.
Chinese and Philippine coast guard ships have collided in the South China Sea. Jay Tarriela, spokesman for the Philippine Coast Guard, said Chinese coast guard ships and escort boats blocked the Philippine ships at a disputed reef and carried out dangerous maneuvers. There was a minor collision between a Chinese ship and one of two Philippine Coast Guard ships.
According to Philippine information, Chinese ships are said to have attempted to block a Philippine supply mission. This was on its way to deliver supplies to soldiers near the Second Thomas Shoal. This is a reef about 200 kilometers west of the Philippine island of Palawan within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
The soldiers are waiting on a rotten warship, the “BRP Sierra Madre”, which ran aground there in 1999 and has since marked the Philippines’ claim to this area. A coast guard ship sustained “minor structural damage” during the action, wrote Jay Tarriela, a spokesman for the Philippine Coast Guard, on X (formerly Twitter).
The task force responsible for the region (NTF-WPS) announced that another supply ship was also attacked with water cannons. At least four crew members were slightly injured. The National Security Council of the Southeast Asian island state spoke of dangerous and illegal maneuvers.
The United States condemned China’s “dangerous maneuver.” On Platform X, US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson expressed her solidarity with the Philippines.
China sees itself as being in the right
The Chinese coast guard said it had carried out an inspection in accordance with the law, but the Philippine ships had ignored warnings. China has protested to the Philippine side against the behavior, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning in Beijing. The Philippines had again violated commitments and caused trouble in the waters around the shoal. China demands an end to such provocations, she said.
There are repeated incidents between the two countries in the disputed region. There has been a dispute between Beijing and Manila for decades over the resource-rich area of widely scattered reefs and islands west of the Philippines and far south of China. The countries’ patrolling coast guards regularly carry out dangerous maneuvers there. China claims practically the entire South China Sea as its own. But the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also claim territory there.