June 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Chinese Coast Guard reported this Monday the collision between one of its ships and another Filipino ship after it carried out “unprofessional” maneuvers in the Second Thomas Shoal Atoll, located in a disputed area of the South China Sea.
“A Philippine replenishment ship has illegally entered waters near the Second Thomas Shoal reef, in the Nansha Islands of China. (…) At 5:59 (hours), the Philippine replenishment ship ignored repeated warnings from “China violated the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea and deliberately approached the Chinese vessel in an unprofessional manner, causing a collision,” reads a statement from the Chinese Coast Guard.
In addition, it has claimed to have taken control measures against the vessel and has blamed the Philippines for the incident, although Manila has not commented so far.
China claims most of the waters in the area, considering that they are part of its territory as they appear within the so-called “nine-dot line” that appears on the maps of the Asian giant – a line drawn by the Chinese Government that claims the South China Sea, including the Paracels and Spratly Islands, as its own.
Relations between China and the Philippines have been under increasing tension in recent months. Manila has accused Beijing of hindering its troop desupply missions within what it considers its exclusive economic zone, while China insists that Philippine ships transit these waters illegally.
The Philippines, on the orders of its president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has rejected China’s claims to this sea and its resources, while strengthening defense ties with the United States. His government has expressed its determination to explore the waters in search of energy resources, emboldened by a legal victory in 2016 — before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague — that rejected Beijing’s claims.
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