On Monday, China and the Philippines exchanged accusations after a vessel collision in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. Manila stated that one of its Navy personnel was struck on the head, while Beijing claims that Manila provoked the incident. This is reported by Reuters, according to UNN.
Details
As the publication writes, the Philippines stated that Chinese coast guard personnel aggressively struck one of their Navy servicemen on the head with a wooden stick during a clash in the area of the "Second Thomas" shoal, which resulted in damage to a Navy rubber boat.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines reported that a Chinese coast guard rigid-hull inflatable boat with eight crew members on board approached at close range to their military vessel, which is grounded on the Second Thomas Shoal, and took photographs and video recordings.
When two Philippine Navy boats moved to drive away the Chinese vessel, its crew "reacted violently and aggressively, striking Philippine Navy personnel with wooden sticks."
In a 25-second video released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, one of the eight individuals is seen striking a Navy crew member who was in a rubber boat near the Chinese vessel.
"We call on the People's Liberation Army and the China Coast Guard, including their maritime militia, to cease their illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions in the West Philippine Sea and to comply with the 2016 arbitral ruling that affirms the Philippines' lawful maritime rights under international law," the Philippine military stated.
In response, the China Coast Guard accused the Philippine vessels of ignoring repeated warnings, dangerously approaching, and ramming into a Chinese patrol boat, and stated that the Philippine personnel initiated the attack first.
Reminder
Japan expressed concern after, on Sunday, July 19, a Chinese Navy destroyer conducted live-fire exercises near a remote Japanese island in the Pacific Ocean as part of joint exercises with Russia. At the same time, Beijing rejected Japanese reports that a People's Liberation Army Navy vessel conducted live-fire exercises within its exclusive economic zone. There, they stated that Tokyo's claims to this zone are illegal.