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The Philippines has called out Beijing for “unprovoked acts of coercion and dangerous manoeuvres” in a disputed area of the South China Sea, saying Chinese ships had fired water cannons at one of its vessels, injuring some crew.
China’s actions put “into question the sincerity of its calls for peaceful dialogue and lessening of tensions”, a Philippine task force on the South China Sea said in a statement.
Philippine vessels that were carrying out a resupply mission for Filipino troops near the Second Thomas Shoal on Tuesday were “harassed (and) blocked” by Chinese maritime militia and coast guard ships, which fired water cannons that shattered the windshield of one of its boats, causing minor injuries to at least four crew members, it said.
The Chinese coast guard’s “reckless” and “illegal” actions also led to the collision between a Chinese and Philippine ship, with the latter sustaining “minor structural damage”, Manila’s coast guard spokesperson said separately.
But China laid the blame on its neighbour, saying Philippine ships had illegally intruded into waters adjacent to the Second Thomas Shoal, which it calls Renai Reef, so it had to take control measures.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, which includes the Second Thomas Shoal, and has deployed vessels to patrol the disputed atoll which lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
The shoal, known in the Philippines as Ayungin, is home to a small number of Filipino troops stationed on a rusting warship which Manila grounded there in 1999 to reinforce sovereignty claims.
“The on-site operation was professional and restrained, reasonable and lawful,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular news conference.
“China once again urges the Philippine side to stop maritime violations and provocations and refrain from taking any actions that may complicate the maritime situation.”
Tuesday’s incident was the latest in a series of maritime run-ins between the Philippines and China, which have been locked in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea despite a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration which found that China’s claims had no legal basis.
Beijing rejects that ruling.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said at the ASEAN summit in Australia on Monday that his country would co-operate in talks with China but it will push back when its sovereignty and maritime rights were ignored.
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