China and the Philippines are exchanging accusations over collisions in the disputed South China Sea

Hong Kong
CNN
—

China and the Philippines exchanged accusations on Sunday of causing clashes in a disputed area in the South China Sea, the latest in a series of maritime confrontations between the two countries that have exacerbated regional tensions.

Philippine authorities said in a statement that a Chinese Coast Guard ship carried out “dangerous interception maneuvers” that caused it to collide with a Filipino ship carrying supplies for forces stationed at Ayungin Shoal, also known as Second Thomas Shoal, in the Spratly island chain.

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said China’s move was “provocative, irresponsible and illegal” and “endangers the safety of the crew” of the Philippine boats.

In a second incident on Sunday, the Philippine Task Force said a Chinese maritime militia ship collided with a Philippine Coast Guard ship, which was on the same mission to resupply the BRP Sierra Madre. Manila grounded the naval transport ship Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 and equipped it with Philippine Marines to enforce its claims in the region.

In a statement on Sunday, the Chinese Coast Guard accused the Philippines of violating international maritime law and threatening the navigational safety of Chinese ships.

The first Philippine ship was accused of encroaching on the waters of what it calls the Nansha Islands and Renai Reef, prompting a Chinese Coast Guard vessel to intercept it “in accordance with the law,” resulting in a “minor collision.”

In the second incident, the Chinese Coast Guard said that the Philippine Coast Guard ship “deliberately caused trouble and reversed course,” causing it to collide with a Chinese fishing boat.

Beijing claims “indisputable sovereignty” over nearly all of the South China Sea’s 1.3 million square miles, as well as most of the islands and sandbars within it, including many landmarks hundreds of miles from mainland China.

In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines in a historic maritime dispute, concluding that China had no legal basis to claim historic rights over much of the South China Sea.

Beijing ignored the ruling.

No injuries were reported in either collision on Sunday, which marked the latest in a series of recent flashpoints between Beijing and Manila in the disputed waterway.

In September, the Philippine Coast Guard released a video of a Filipino diver cutting through a floating barrier erected by China in a disputed area of ​​the waterway that was preventing Filipino boats from entering.

This came just days after the Philippine Coast Guard accused the Chinese maritime militia of turning vast areas of coral reefs near the Palawan island chain into barren and broken wasteland.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry rejected these allegations, describing them as “false and baseless.”