In a dangerous situation on Saturday, China and the Philippines each said the other was to blame for deliberately hitting coast guard boats in the South China Sea, which is contested. This is the fifth fight of this kind in a month, showing how competitive things are in the area.
Both the United States and Japan claim the area around Sabina Shoal, where the accident happened. The South China Sea is an important waterway; every year, about $3 trillion worth of trade goes through it.
People also think it has a lot of oil, natural gas, and fish. A lot of places, like the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam, have argued against China’s broad rights over the eastern sea. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration said that China’s broad claims were not supported by law, which Beijing still rejects.
The Philippine Coast Guard said that a Chinese Coast Guard ship intentionally hit one of their biggest cutters, the Teresa Magbanua, which started the incident. At a news meeting, spokesperson Jay Tarriela showed video proof and said that the Chinese ship had moved without being provoked. The Philippine ship sustained injuries, but no one was hurt.
Liu Dejun, a spokesman for China’s coast guard, said that a Philippine ship that was “illegally stranded” at Sabina Shoal had raised its anchor and purposely hit a Chinese ship. Liu told the Philippines that they had to pull their ship back or else there would be consequences. He made it clear that China would do everything it could to protect its sea rights and national authority.
Even though things are getting worse, the Philippines has promised not to pull its ship back. Tarriela said again that Manila would not back down in the face of what he called the Chinese Coast Guard’s abuse and bullying.
This new fight is one of many that have happened between the two countries in the South China Sea. The Philippine Maritime Council said earlier this week that Chinese planes had made risky moves towards a passenger plane that was patrolling the contested Scarborough Shoal and Subi Reef. On Sunday, the Philippines also said that China had stopped a normal restocking mission by ramming and using water guns on a fisheries bureau ship that was bringing supplies that Filipino fishers needed.
The situation in the South China Sea is still a major issue, even though emotions are rising.
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