There have been a number of clashes between Chinese and Philippine ships in the area (File).
Beijing:
A Philippine ship and a Chinese vessel collided Monday near the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea, the Chinese coast guard said.
The Second Thomas Shoal, known in Chinese as the Ren'ai Reef, hosts a garrison of Philippine troops on a grounded naval ship, the Sierra Madre, to assert Manila's claims to the waters.
The area has seen a number of clashes between Chinese and Philippine ships, often during Philippine attempts to resupply the garrison.
The Shoal is about 200 kilometers from the western Philippine island of Palawan and more than 1,000 kilometers from China's nearest major landmass, Hainan Island.
China's coast guard said in a statement Monday that a Philippine supply ship in the area had “ignored many solemn warnings from the Chinese side.”
It “approached the… Chinese ship in an unprofessional manner, resulting in a collision,” the statement said.
Beijing accused the ship of “illegally breaking into the sea at Ren'ai Reef in China's Nansha Islands.”
“The Chinese Coast Guard has taken control measures against the Philippine ship in accordance with the law.”
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing aside competing claims from several Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines and an international ruling that its position has no legal basis.
China is deploying coast guard and other boats to patrol the waters and has turned several reefs into militarized artificial islands.
This month, Manila accused Chinese boats of illegally seizing food and medicine dropped at the Philippine outpost at Second Thomas Shoal.
It was the first time supplies had been seized, the military said.
Chinese personnel on the boats later dumped the items in the water, Philippine Navy spokesman West Philippine Naval Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad said.
It was not clear whether they belonged to the Chinese coast guard or the navy, the military said.
China, in response, insisted that the Sierra Madre was illegally grounded on the reef and urged the Philippines to “stop making trouble.”
'Dangerous' raids
New Chinese coast guard rules allowing foreigners to be detained for alleged violations in the disputed sea came into effect on Saturday.
Manila has accused the Chinese coast guard of “barbaric and inhuman behavior” against Philippine ships, and President Ferdinand Marcos has called the new rules a “very worrying” escalation.
China has defended its new coast guard rules. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said last month that they were intended to “better maintain order at sea.”
Chinese coast guard ships have used water cannons against Philippine boats several times in the disputed waters.
There have also been clashes that left Philippine troops injured.
The Group of Seven bloc on Friday criticized what it called “dangerous” incursions by China in the South China Sea.
Confrontations between China and the Philippines have raised fears of a broader conflict over the sea, which could involve the United States and other allies.
Trillions of dollars in shipping trade pass through the South China Sea every year, and vast untapped oil and gas reserves are believed to lie beneath the seabed, although estimates vary widely.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)