2023-10-22 05:54:02
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Chinese coast guard ship and one of its militia vessels collided with a Philippine coast guard ship and another military supply ship on Sunday in separate incidents near a disputed sandbar in the South China Sea. in “dangerous, irresponsible and illegal actions,” according to Philippine authorities.
They did not indicate whether there were injuries or damage from the two collisions near the Second Thomas sandbar, where two other tensions occurred in August. The Philippine government condemned the new confrontation “in the strongest terms” and called it a violation of Manila’s sovereignty.
The Chinese embassy had no immediate comment on the Philippine report.
The collisions occurred when two Philippine supply ships escorted by two coast guard ships were going to deliver food and other supplies to the atoll, despite a blockade imposed by China years ago, according to a Philippine government task force.
The task force said it “condemns in the strongest terms the latest dangerous, irresponsible and illegal actions of the Chinese coast guard and Chinese maritime militia that occurred this morning in violation of Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction.”
The actions of the Chinese vessels amounted to “blatant disregard for the United Nations Charter, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea” and international regulations that aim to prevent maritime collisions, according to the Philippine task force, which includes to the defense and foreign departments, the army, the national security council and the country’s coast guard.
There have been frequent non-collision incidents in the past in regular supply deliveries to Filipino sailors and marines assigned to the disputed sand camp. But this is the first time that Philippine authorities report that their country’s vessels were hit by Chinese ships.
In the first incident that occurred on Sunday morning, “dangerous blocking maneuvers of the Chinese coast guard ship 5203 caused it to collide with the indigenous supply ship Unaiza May 2 contracted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” the task force said. . This “provocative, irresponsible and illegal” action by the coast guard ship “jeopardized the safety of the crew.”
On the other hand, the Philippine coast guard ship BRP Cabras “was hit by the Chinese maritime militia ship 00003” on the port side when it was northeast of the Second Thomas bank, the statement added.
Despite the blockade, one of the two ships managed by the Philippine navy was able to maneuver and deliver supplies to the small contingent assigned to a warship that has been stranded for years but is technically still active, the BRP Sierra Madre.
It was a new episode in long-running territorial disputes in the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest trade routes. The conflicts, involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei, are seen as a potential source of conflict and have become a sensitive issue in the rivalry between the United States and China in the region.
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