This frame grab from handout video footage taken and released on August 25, 2024 by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) shows a Chinese coast Guard ship (L) in a collision with the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel BRP Datu Sanday, near Sabina Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea. China's coast guard said it rescued Filipino "personnel" who fell overboard August 25 after a Philippine vessel collided with one of its ships near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, while the Philippine government accused Chinese vessels of ramming and using water cannon against its ship. - AFP
BEIJING (Agencies): China's coast guard said Sunday it took action against a Philippine vessel that ignored warnings and caused a light collision with its vessel in the disputed South China Sea, where confrontations between the two sides have increased.
Gan Yu, the coast guard spokesperson, said in a statement that the Philippine vessel entered the waters around Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands, known in Chinese as Xianbin Reef in the Nansha Islands. Yu said the Philippine ship ignored the Chinese warning and sailed toward the coast guard ship "unprofessionally” and "dangerously," causing the two vessels to brush against each other.
"The responsibility is totally on the Philippines' side. We sternly warn that the Philippine side must immediately stop the infringement and provocation, otherwise it must bear all consequences,” he said. Yu did not elaborate on what control measures the Chinese coast guard took according to a AP report.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in the Philippines said its vessel encountered aggressive and dangerous maneuvers from eight Chinese maritime forces. It said the actions from the Chinese side were aimed at obstructing its vessel’s humanitarian mission to resupply Filipino fishermen with diesel, food and medical supplies.
China is rapidly expanding its military and has become increasingly assertive in pursuing its territorial claims in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety. The tensions have led to more frequent confrontations, primarily with the Philippines, though the longtime territorial disputes also involve other claimants including Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.
The latest incident came days after Chinese and Philippine coast guard ships collided near Sabina Shoal, a disputed atoll. At least two vessels were reported to be damaged in Monday's collision but there were no reports of injuries.
Sabina Shoal lies about 140 kilometers (85 miles) west of the Philippine province of Palawan, in the internationally recognized exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.
The atoll is near Second Thomas Shoal, another flashpoint where China has hampered the resupply of Philippine forces. China and the Philippines reached an agreement last month to prevent further confrontations at Second Thomas Shoal.
Meanwhile, China's coast guard also said that it rescued Filipino "personnel" who fell overboard Sunday after a Philippine vessel collided with one of its ships near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, according yo a AFP report.
The Philippines slammed China's claims as "completely unfounded".
The two nations have had repeated confrontations in the waters in recent months, and on Saturday Manila accused China of recently twice firing flares at one of its patrol aircraft.
China has continued to press its claims to almost the entire sea and has ignored an international tribunal ruling that its assertions have no legal basis.
Beijing accused the Philippine vessel of "deliberately" colliding with a Chinese Coast Guard ship.
It said the collision took place near the disputed Sabina Shoal, 140 kilometres (86 miles) west of the Philippine island of Palawan and about 1,200 kilometres from Hainan island, the closest Chinese landmass.
China Coast Guard spokesman Gan Yu said the collision occurred when a Philippine vessel refused to comply with "control measures" after attempting to deliver supplies to another vessel "illegally stationed" near Xianbin Reef in the Nansha Islands -- using the Chinese names for the Sabina Shoal and the Spratly Islands also claimed by Manila.
"China warns the Philippines to immediately cease its infringing actions, otherwise the Philippines will bear all consequences resulting from this situation," Gan said.
The Philippines said that its ships encountered "aggressive and dangerous maneuvers" from the Chinese side when they were on a humanitarian mission to resupply Filipino fishermen with diesel, food and medical items.
The Chinese vessels "made close perilous maneuvers that resulted in ramming, blasted horns, and deployed water cannons", leading to an early termination of the resupply operation after their ship experienced engine failure, a statement from Manila's National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea said.
"These unprofessional, aggressive, and illegal actions posed serious risks to the safety of the Filipino crew and the fishermen they were meant to serve," the statement said, adding that no one was harmed.
Footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard showed a Chinese ship approaching and ramming the left side of its vessel.
Another clip showed a Chinese vessel travelling parallel to the Philippine ship, just metres away.
