The Philippine Coast Guard yesterday accused Chinese patrol vessels of blocking two of its boats in the South China Sea, describing their actions as “very dangerous.”
The Philippine Coast Guard said that the incident happened on Friday last week during a regular operation to resupply marines stationed in a run-down navy ship grounded at the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) to assert Manila’s territorial claim in the waters.
As they neared the shoal, the two Philippine Coast Guard boats assigned as escorts for the navy mission were approached by two Chinese Coast Guard vessels.
Photo: Reuters
One of the Chinese boats came within about 90m of the BRP Malabrigo’s bow, forcing its commanding officer to slow down to avoid a collision, Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela told reporters.
“They dangerously conducted different maneuvers, even crossing the bow of the Philippine Coast Guard vessels and that kind of distance is very dangerous, because that’s already prone to collision,” said Tarriela, the coast guard spokesman for the West Philippine Sea.
Manila refers to waters immediately to its west as the West Philippine Sea.
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
They were “constantly followed, harassed, and obstructed by the significantly larger Chinese coast guard vessels,” Tarriela wrote on Twitter later.
Second Thomas Shoal — which Taiwan also claims — is a submerged reef over which the Philippines stakes a claim to sovereignty via a handful of troops who live aboard a rusty World War II-era US ship that was intentionally grounded in 1999.
The shoal is inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Tarriela said that the presence of Chinese navy ships in the area was “alarming,” adding that it raised “greater concerns.”
China has previously said its coast guard conducts regular operations in what it calls Chinese waters.
Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea via a “nine-dash line” on its maps.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said that line has no basis under international law.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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