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China and the Philippines traded accusations of ramming each others’ ships in the disputed South China Sea on Monday, in the latest flare-up in one of the region’s most dangerous flashpoints despite a détente between the sides last month.
China’s coast guard said early on Monday that a Philippine vessel “illegally intruded into waters” near the Second Thomas Shoal, a reef that lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone but over which Beijing claims sovereignty. It said the Philippine vessel “deliberately rammed” one of its ships during the incident.
The Philippines responded in a statement that said there were two ramming incidents on Monday and accused China of responsibility.
“Unlawful and aggressive manoeuvres from Chinese Coast Guard vessels . . . resulted in collisions, causing structural damage to both PCG [Philippine Coast Guard] vessels,” it said.
The Philippines and China in June signed a “provisional arrangement” allowing the former to resupply troops stationed at the Sierra Madre, a rusting warship that Manila ran aground on Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 and uses as a military outpost.
China refused to renounce its sovereignty claim to the shoal, however, and insisted that it would conduct “on-site verification” and “supervise” each resupply mission.
The agreement followed a series of increasingly violent incidents in which China’s coast guard has disrupted trips by vessels commissioned by the Philippine armed forces to send supplies to the small group of marines stationed on the reef.
“The Philippines has repeatedly provoked incidents, violating the temporary arrangement between China and the Philippines regarding the supply of living materials to the illegally ‘stranded’ vessel,” China’s coast guard said.
In the most violent encounter, Beijing’s coast guard in June rammed and boarded Philippine vessels, confiscated guns and used axes to puncture the boats and threaten Philippine sailors, one of whom was injured in the confrontation.
The clash raised concerns of a conflict between China and the US, an ally of the Philippines, which has assured Manila that their mutual defence treaty applies to Second Thomas Shoal.
The reef’s location in the Philippine exclusive economic zone gives Manila the sole rights to its use under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea as its territory, despite a 2016 arbitration ruling rejecting that claim.
On Monday, China’s coast guard said its vessels “took control measures against the offending Philippine vessel in accordance with laws and regulations”.
“We urge the Philippine side to immediately cease its provocative infringements, otherwise, it will bear all consequences arising from this.”
On Sunday, the Philippines said its vessels had the right to operate within the area “for as long as necessary, without requiring permission from any other country”.
Additional reporting by William Sandlund in Hong Kong and A. Anantha Lakshmi in Jakarta
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