Chinese and Philippine ships came close to collision in the South China Sea on Sunday, in yet another sign of continued tensions over contested waters.
During the incident, which occurred in the vicinity of the Second Thomas Shoal (which Taiwan claims under the name Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙), two Chinese Coast Guard vessels blocked Philippine patrol boats carrying journalists and “exhibited aggressive tactics,” the Philippine Coast Guard said in a statement yesterday.
One of the Chinese vessels carried out “dangerous maneuvers,” putting the ships 45m from each other, the statement said.
Photo: AFP
“This close proximity posed a significant threat to the safety and security of the Philippine vessel and its crew,” it said.
The incidents occurred as the Philippine Coast Guard undertook a week-long patrol in the strategic waterway, and on the heels of Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang (秦剛) visiting Manila last weekend to meet Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Philippine Secretary of National Defense Carlito Galvez.
The two nations have been locked in a territorial dispute in the resource-rich waters, with Marcos’ government ramping up protests over Beijing’s actions. China has maintained that its presence in the area is legitimate, even after an international tribunal dashed its expansive sea claims in 2016.
The incident occurred as the US and the Philippines were conducting their largest joint military exercises, which ended yesterday.
Marcos’ government has been strengthening its alliance with Washington, recently expanding the US’ access to his nation’s military sites.
Marcos is expected to discuss defense deals with US President Joe Biden in a meeting next week.
The Philippine Coast Guard yesterday said that it conducted a seven-day patrol in the South China Sea through Monday upon Marcos’ directive.
It also reported a separate “confrontation” with a Chinese navy vessel near Pagasa Island (Jhongye Island, 中業島) on Friday last week. The Chinese ship reportedly told Philippine vessels over the radio to leave the area, and that failure to comply might “cause problem.”
The Philippines said that during the mission that began on Tuesday last week, it identified more than 100 “alleged Chinese maritime militia vessels, a People’s Liberation Army Navy corvette class and two China Coast Guard vessels” within the Philippines’ 322km exclusive economic zone.
In February, the Philippine Coast Guard said a Chinese counterpart ship had directed a “military-grade laser” at one of its ships supporting a resupply mission to troops in the disputed waterway, temporarily blinding its crew on the bridge.
Meanwhile, China yesterday said the “near collision” in the South China Sea was caused by the Philippines’ “premeditated and provocative action.”
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning (毛寧) said the Philippine boats had “intruded” without China’s permission.
“The Chinese coast guard vessel safeguarded China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime order, in accordance with the law, while taking timely measures to avoid the dangerous approach of Philippine vessels and to avoid a collision,” Mao said.
“It was a premeditated and provocative action for the Philippine vessel to barge into the waters of Renai Jiao with journalists on board. The aim was to deliberately find fault and take the opportunity to hype up the incident,” she added.
Mao said the crew of the Chinese vessel had acted “professionally and with restraint.”
Additional reporting by Reuters and AFP
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better