China and Philippines trade blame over boat collision in disputed sea

MANILA - A Chinese ship “deliberately rammed” a Philippine government vessel anchored near an island in a disputed part of the South China Sea, Manila’s coast guard said on Oct 12.

Confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels occur frequently in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims nearly in its entirety despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

The Philippines said a Chinese Coast Guard ship “fired its water cannon” at the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, a vessel belonging to Manila’s fisheries bureau, at 9.15am on Oct 12.

“Just three minutes later... the same (Chinese) vessel deliberately rammed the stern” of the Philippine boat, “causing minor structural damage but no injuries to the crew”, the statement said.

Manila’s coast guard said the incident took place near Thitu Island, part of the Spratly island group where Beijing has sought to assert its sovereignty claims for years.

“Despite these bullying tactics and aggressive actions... we will not be intimidated or driven away,” the Philippine Coast Guard said.

On Oct 12, the Chinese Coast Guard said two Philippine government vessels illegally entered waters in the South China Sea, leading to a collision.

One Philippine government vessel “dangerously approached the Chinese Coast Guard vessel” near Sandy Cay, causing the collision for which the Philippine side bears full responsibility, China said.

Chinese Coast Guard spokesman Liu Dejun said the incident occurred when the Philippine ship “ignored repeated stern warnings from the Chinese side”.

Sandy Cay is close to Thitu Island, the largest and most strategically important of the nine features Manila occupies in the Spratly archipelago, where Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and China also have a presence, ranging from reefs and rocks to islands, natural and artificial.

China’s man-made islands include runways, ports and missile systems.

The incident is the latest in a string of recent flare-ups between Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea, a busy waterway through which more than 60 per cent of global maritime trade passes.

In September, the Philippine government said one person was injured when a water cannon attack by a Chinese Coast Guard vessel shattered a window on the bridge of another fisheries bureau ship, the BRP Datu Gumbay Piang, near the Beijing-controlled Scarborough Shoal.

And in August, a Chinese navy vessel collided with one from its own coast guard while chasing a Philippine patrol boat near the same shoal.

China seized control of the fish-rich shoal from the Philippines after a lengthy stand-off in 2012.

The Philippines had voiced opposition to China’s plans for a “nature reserve” there, calling it a pretext for the eventual occupation of the site. AFP