[ad_1]
China’s coast guard accused the Philippines of deliberately colliding with a Chinese vessel yesterday near Sabina Atoll, a new flashpoint in the territorial dispute between the two countries.
The Chinese Coast Guard said in a statement that two Philippine Coast Guard ships entered the waters near Scarborough Shoal at 3:24 a.m., ignoring the warnings of the Chinese Coast Guard and “deliberately collided with one of the Chinese ships.”
However, the Philippine government has condemned Chinese coast guard vessels for conducting “illegal and aggressive” exercises near disputed atolls in the Spratly Islands. The two collisions occurred against Philippine ships that were tasked with delivering supplies to personnel stationed in Patagonia and the Lawaque Islands.
One of the collisions caused a hole about 12 centimeters in diameter to appear on the deck of the Philippine ship Cape Engaño, which was sailing about 23 nautical miles southeast of Sabina Atoll, the statement said, attaching photos of the damage.
“The Philippines bears full responsibility for the collision,” said Gan Yu, a spokesman for the Chinese Coast Guard. “We warn the Philippines to immediately stop its illegal and provocative behavior, otherwise all consequences arising therefrom will be borne by them.”
Gan added that China has “indisputable sovereignty” over the Nansha Islands, known in Chinese as the Nansha Islands, including Sabina Atoll and its surrounding waters. The atoll’s Chinese name is Xianbin.
Minutes after the collision, in nearby waters, another Chinese vessel “twice” rammed another Philippine vessel, identified as the BRP Bagacay, which ended up suffering “minor structural damage.”
[ad_2]
Source link
