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China’s Coast Guard said in a statement today that a Philippine vessel ignored its repeated warnings and “deliberately rammed” a Chinese vessel in an “unprofessional and dangerous” manner.
A video of the incident showed the accident occurred at around 3:24 a.m. on Monday (1924 GMT Sunday) and described the Chinese ship as a Coast Guard vessel.
The same Philippine vessel entered waters near Second Thomas Shoal after being blocked from entering waters off the Sabina Islands, the Chinese Coast Guard said in one of its statements.
Chinese Coast Guard spokesman Gan Yu said two Philippine Coast Guard ships “illegally entered” waters near the Sabina Islands without permission early Monday morning.
“The Philippines has repeatedly provoked and created incidents, violating the temporary arrangements between China and the Philippines,” Gan said.
China’s Coast Guard said it had taken control measures against Philippine vessels in accordance with the law in response to the incident in the early hours of Monday, and demanded that the Philippines “immediately stop its illegal and provocative behavior” or “bear all consequences.”
A Philippine Coast Guard spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But Philippine Security Council spokesman Jonathan Malaya said on Monday that the Philippines’ moves to assert its rights in the South China Sea were not provocative.
China and the Philippines reached a “temporary agreement” in July after several skirmishes near the Second Thomas Shoal. China has been heavily criticized by Western countries for aggressively obstructing the Philippines from resupplying its naval ships anchored in the Philippines.
Beijing claims most of the South China Sea, including islands, and rejected a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that said Beijing’s expansionist claims had no basis in international law.
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