China Coast Guard boats and a Chinese navy helicopter harassed a group of Philippine fisheries vessels conducting a scientific survey in a hotly disputed area of the South China Sea, forcing them to cancel the operation, the Philippine Coast Guard said yesterday.
Beijing has repeatedly asserted sovereignty over most of the South China Sea and accused rival claimant states, including Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia of encroachment. China has demarcated its territorial claims with a 10 dashed-line printed on maps, but has not provided the exact coordinates.
The incident took place on Friday near Sandy Cay (Dunqian Cay, 敦謙沙洲), three small uninhabited sandbars flanked by an artificial island base of Chinese forces and a Philippines-occupied island in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) archipelago, the coast guard said.
Photo: Philippine Coast Guard via AP
The China Coast Guard ships approached two larger vessels, which maneuvered to avoid a collision, and a navy helicopter flew low over two smaller boats deployed by the ships, forcing the survey to be called off.
A China Coast Guard statement said that it drove the Philippine ships away after they entered the waters without China’s permission and attempted to land on the cay and conduct sand sampling.
Manila said the Chinese navy helicopter “hovered at an unsafe altitude” above the Philippine fisheries agency’s inflatable boats, “creating hazardous conditions due to the propeller wash.”
“As a result of this continuous harassment and the disregard for safety exhibited by the Chinese maritime forces,” the Philippine Coast Guard said it and the fisheries agency “regrettably suspended their survey operations and were unable to collect sand samples” from unoccupied sandbars off the Philippine-held Thitu Island (Jhongye Island, 中業島).
Videos released by the Philippine Coast Guard show a Chinese coast guard ship sailing close to a vessel officials identified as belonging to the Philippines.
Another video shows a Chinese military helicopter hovering low over the rough seas near a vessel flying a Philippine flag.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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