Beijing: Chinese and Philippine vessels "collided" Monday during a confrontation near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, Beijing's coast guard said.
China and the Philippines have had repeated confrontations in the vital waterway in recent months, including around a warship grounded years ago by Manila on the contested Second Thomas Shoal that now hosts a garrison.
Beijing has continued to press its claims to almost the entire South China Sea despite an international tribunal ruling that its assertion has no legal basis. China Coast Guard spokesperson Geng Yu said a Philippine vessel had "deliberately collided" with a Chinese ship early Monday.
"Philippine Coast Guard vessels... illegally entered the waters near the Xianbin Reef in the Nansha Islands without permission from the Chinese government," Geng said, using the Chinese names for the Sabina Shoal and the Spratly Islands. "The China Coast Guard took control measures against the Philippine vessels in accordance with the law," Geng added.
Footage purporting to show the incident attributed to the Chinese coast guard and shared by state broadcaster CCTV showed one ship, identified as a Philippine vessel by the Chinese side, apparently running into the left side of a Chinese ship before moving on. Another 15-second clip appears to show the Chinese vessel making contact with the rear of the Philippine ship. CCTV said the Philippine ship made a "sudden change of direction" and caused the crash.
The coast guard spokesperson accused Philippine vessels of acting "in an unprofessional and dangerous manner, resulting in a glancing collision". "We sternly warn the Philippine side to immediately cease its infringement and provocations," Geng said.
Philippines says two of its ships damaged in collisions
The Philippine government said Monday that two of its coast guard ships were damaged in collisions with Chinese vessels that were conducting "unlawful and aggressive manoeuvres" near a disputed South China Sea reef.
The Chinese coast guard vessels' actions near Sabina Shoal before dawn on Monday "resulted in collisions causing structural damage to both Philippine Coast Guard vessels", Manila's National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea said in a statement.
Increasing clashes
State news agency Xinhua reported that the incident took place at 3:24 am local time (1924 GMT Sunday). It also said the Philippine coast guard ship had then entered waters near the Second Thomas Shoal around 6 am. The shoal lies about 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan and more than 1,000 kilometres from China's nearest major landmass, Hainan Island.
It has been a focus of clashes between Chinese and Philippine ships in recent months, sparking concern that Manila's ally the United States could be drawn into a conflict as Beijing steps up efforts to push its claims in the sea. Analysts have said Beijing's aim is to push eastwards from the Second Thomas Shoal towards the neighbouring Sabina Shoal, encroaching on Manila's exclusive economic zone and normalising Chinese control of the area.
This has echoes of 2012, when Beijing took control of Scarborough Shoal, another strategic area of the South China Sea closest to the Philippines.
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