Chinese and Philippine coastguard ships have once again clashed in the South China Sea despite a temporary agreement signed last month, Bloomberg reports UNN.
Details
On Monday, August 19, the Chinese Coast Guard published four statements on its official WeChat page, saying that two Philippine Coast Guard ships “illegally attempted to enter the waters around the Sabina Shoal.
At the same time, a representative of the Philippine National Security said that two of its vessels were damaged in the collision.
According to video footage released by Beijing, at around 03:23 a.m., one Philippine ship “ignored” Chinese warnings and “deliberately collided” with the Chinese vessel in an “unprofessional, dangerous manner.
Instead, the Assistant Director General of the Philippine National Security Council, Jonathan Malaya, said that the Philippines faced "illegal and aggressive maneuvers by Chinese coast guard ships", which led to "a collision that caused structural damage to both coast guard ships".
According to Chinese Coast Guard spokesman Gan Yu, the Philippines violated the interim agreements between the two countries regarding a Philippine supply ship near the Second Thomas Shoal by “repeatedly provoking a clash.
“We would like to sternly warn the Philippine side to immediately stop its violations and provocations,” he said.
According to another Chinese statement, the two Philippine ships later attempted to enter the waters around the Second Thomas Shoal, and Beijing took “control measures” against both of them.
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