AP, MANILA
A China Coast Guard ship and an accompanying vessel yesterday rammed a Philippine Coast Guard ship and a military-run supply boat off a contested shoal, Philippine officials said, in an encounter that heightened fears of an armed conflict in the disputed South China Sea.
A top Philippine security official said there were no injuries among the Filipino crew and an assessment of the damage to both vessels was under way.
The official said that the two incidents near Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙), where China has repeatedly tried to isolate a Philippine marine outpost, could have been worse if the vessels were not able to maneuver rapidly away from the Chinese ships.
Photo: EPA-EFE / handout / Philippine Armed Forces
The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to a lack of authority to publicly discuss the matter.
China’s sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea, including over islands closer to Philippine shore, have raised tensions and brought in the US, a longtime treaty ally of the Philippines. Second Thomas Shoal is also claimed by Taiwan.
A Philippine government task force on the South China Sea said the collisions occurred as two Philippine supply boats escorted by two Philippine Coast Guard ships were heading to deliver food and other supplies to the military outpost that has been under a Chinese blockade.
The actions of the Chinese ships were “in utter blatant disregard of the United Nations Charter, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea” and international regulations that aim to prevent sea collisions, it said.
The China Coast Guard said the Philippine vessels “trespassed” into what it said were Chinese waters “without authorization” despite repeated radio warnings, prompting its ships to stop them. It blamed the Philippine vessels for causing the collisions.
“The Philippine side’s behavior seriously violates the international rules on avoiding collisions at sea and threatens the navigation safety of our vessels,” the China Coast Guard said in a statement posted on its Web site.
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