Beijing and Manila exchange accusations over a new collision incident in the South China Sea
Kuwait City, Sept 18 (KUNA) -- Beijing and Manila exchanged accusations today on Friday over a deliberate new collision between two vessels in the South China Sea, marking the latest episode in a series of escalating similar incidents in the vital waterway. On its part, the Xinhua News Agency quoted Chinese Coast Guard spokesperson Jiang Liwei as saying, “The Philippine vessel ignored repeated serious Chinese warnings, deliberately changed course, then suddenly accelerated and cut across the path of the Chinese Coast Guard ship at an angle, causing contact between the two vessels.” He clarified that “the Chinese ship was conducting rights-protection and law-enforcement operations in waters adjacent to Xiannping Jiao (known in the Philippines as Second Thomas Shoal), a coral reef belonging to the Nansha Qundao (known in the Philippines as the Spratly Islands).” He stressed that the incident threatened the safety of Chinese Coast Guard vessels and their crew members, accusing Manila of “dangerously violating international law and the fundamental rules governing international relations.”
On the other side, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said in a statement that the Chinese ship “rammed the (Philippine) vessel” while it was conducting a maritime patrol to deliver subsidized fuel to Filipino fishermen. He noted that the incident occurred about 54 nautical miles off the coast of Palawan province, explaining that this distance lies “entirely within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone.” Tarriela added that “the Chinese ship cut across the stern of the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel from a distance of only about 10 meters,” and that “the Philippine vessel was maintaining its course when the Chinese ship repeated its maneuver and scraped against it before colliding with it.” He said, “The Chinese ship performed repeated dangerous maneuvers and deliberately collided with the Philippine vessel, causing material damage and endangering the lives of the civilian crew.”
The incident took place near shallow waters in the disputed islands, an area rich in fish that has seen violent confrontations with Chinese Coast Guard ships in recent years. Clashes between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea resumed last July after a brief lull that followed Manila’s hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers’ meeting. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including parts where the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam assert sovereignty claims. The maritime passage, through which trade worth $3 trillion annually flows, is believed to be rich in oil and natural gas deposits, as well as fish stocks. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China has no “historic rights” to most of the strategic waters of the South China Sea, a verdict Beijing rejected. (End) S L Q / E A B / T M A
