On Sunday, a senior official of the Philippines navy reported that a Chinese Coast Guard ship had intentionally and negligently struck a Philippine Coastguard vessel in a disputed region of the South China Sea.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, the spokesperson for the Philippines Coastguard, accused China of engaging in “aggressive and dangerous manoeuvres,” such as ramming and dousing the vessel with water cannons.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, the coast guard’s spokesperson, issued a statement on social media that stated that no mariners from the Philippines sustained injuries.
Gan Yu, a spokesperson for the Chinese coast guard, refuted the allegations on social media’s X platform that the Philippine ship intentionally collided with their vessel in the waters near Xianbin Reef, which is more commonly referred to as Escoda Shoal in the Philippines.
JUST IN: China Coast Guard ship 21551 rams the BRP Datu Sanday 10 nautical miles from Escoda Shoal in the West Philippine Sea at about 2:11 p.m. The Inquirer is aboard the BRP Datu Sanday. | @NCorralesINQ /PDI pic.twitter.com/FbxUmCK85e
— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) August 25, 2024
But a reporter recorded the interaction and shared the footage on social media X, disproving China’s accusations. According to the footage, the Chinese ship sped up toward the Philippine Coastguard vessel, rammed it, and then changed its path.
The clash on Sunday had overshadowed efforts to rebuild trust and better manage disputes in the South China Sea after months of confrontations. China claims sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea, including areas claimed by the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Brunei.
Despite efforts to construct a “provisional arrangement” to ease tensions, China remains the aggressor in the conflict between the Philippines and Beijing in the South China Sea. The Philippines has also warned that China’s behaviour is undermining attempts to build trust between their countries.
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