China’s coast guard says a Philippine supply ship has deliberately approached one of its vessels in the South China Sea, resulting in a slight collision. The Philippines has accused China of infringing on its sovereignty.
The Chinese coast guard said the Philippine transport ship illegally intruded into waters near the Second Thomas Shoal — which is effectively controlled by the Philippines.
Coast guard officials said the collision occurred after the Philippine ship ignored warnings from the Chinese side and deliberately came close to a Chinese vessel. They said the Philippines is entirely responsible for the incident.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told reporters on Monday that the Philippine vessel was trying to transport construction materials.
The Philippine military criticized the presence of Chinese vessels within their country’s exclusive economic zone, which they said infringe on their sovereignty. They said the Chinese coast guard’s aggressive action is driving up tensions in the region.
The Philippines is using a long-grounded warship on the Second Thomas Shoal as a military outpost. China’s coast guard this year began taking aggressive measures against Philippine vessels delivering supplies to the grounded warship, such as firing water cannons at the crews.