A Chinese ship ran aground in stormy weather in shallow waters off a Philippines-controlled island in the disputed South China Sea, prompting Filipino forces to go on alert, Philippine military officials said yesterday.
When Philippine forces assessed that the Chinese fishing vessel appeared to have run aground in the shallows east of Thitu Island (Jhongye Island, 中業島) on Saturday due to bad weather, Philippine military and coast guard personnel deployed to provide help, but later saw that the ship had been extricated, Philippine navy regional spokesperson Ellaine Rose Collado said.
No other details were immediately available, including if there were injuries among the crewmembers or if the ship was damaged, Collado added.
Photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines, Public Affairs Office via AP
Confrontations have spiked between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and navy ships in the disputed waters in recent years.
“The alertness of our troops is always there,” Philippine Armed Forces Public Affairs Office chief Colonel Xerxes Trinidad told reporters.
When they saw that a probable incident had happened, “we tried to provide assistance as professionals” in accordance with international law on helping distressed vessels at sea, he said.
“We’re always following international law,” Trinidad said.
Philippine villagers living in a fishing village on Thitu, which they call Pag-asa Island, immediately informed the Philippine military and coast guard after seeing the Chinese ship lying in the shallows about 1.5 nautical miles (2.8km) from their village, said MP Albayda, a local Philippine official.
“They got worried because the Chinese were so close, but it was really the strong wind and waves that caused the ship to run aground,” Albayda said, adding that other Chinese ships pulled the stricken vessel away.
The stricken ship resembled what the Philippine military had repeatedly said were suspected Chinese militia ships, which had backed the Chinese coast guard and navy in blocking and harassing Philippine coast guard and military vessels in the disputed waters, a busy conduit for global trade and commerce.
Thitu Island is home to a Philippine fishing village and armed forces, and is the largest of nine islands and islets controlled by the Philippines. It lies about 26km from Subi Reef (渚碧礁), which China transformed into an island base along with six other barren reefs to reinforce its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea.
Taiwann Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei are also involved in the long-simmering territorial standoffs, an Asian flashpoint that many fear could pit China and the US in a major conflict.
The US does not lay any claim to the South China Sea, but has repeatedly warned that it is obligated to defend the Philippines, its longtime treaty ally, if Philippine forces, ships or aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.
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