Philippines and China accuse each other for attacks on ships

A Philippine ship and a Chinese coast guard vessel collided on Sunday (12/10/2023) near a disputed reef, and the two countries blamed each other for this new confrontation in the South China Sea.

The incident occurred during a resupply mission Filipino boat near Ayungin sandbar, Spratly Islandsa focus of conflict between Manila and Beijing.

A day earlier, the Philippines accused the Chinese coast guard of using water cannon to prevent three official ships from delivering supplies to Filipino fishermen near Scarborough Atoll, off the main island of Luzon.

Jay Tarriela, spokesman for the Western Philippine Coast Guard, said on the social network .

But the Chinese coast guard accused the Philippine ship of “deliberately colliding” with the Chinese ship after “disregarding our multiple firm warnings.”

He said in a statement that the Philippine ship “suddenly changed direction in an unprofessional and dangerous manner, deliberately colliding with our coast guard vessel 21556 that was carrying out a normal surveillance tour.”

Philippines and China have long history of maritime incidents in the disputed South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade pass annually.

China claims sovereignty over the majority of that sea, despite a contrary ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claim sovereignty over parts of that sea.

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