Philippines accuses China of ramming supply vessel

The Philippines on Sunday claimed that Chinese vessels blocked a Filipino ship that was transporting provisions to fishermen in the South China Sea, accusing them of ramming it and using water cannon.

China, in its turn, has accused the Philippines of illegally sending a vessel to the region.

The two nations have had repeated confrontations in the waters near the Sabina Shoal — called Xianbin Reef by China — in recent months.

What do the Philippines and China say about the incident?

Manila's South China Sea task force said in a statement that the Chinese vessels had made "aggressive and dangerous" maneuvers.

The vessel from the Philippines' Bureau of Fisheries (BFAR) "was targeted by the People's Liberation Army Navy ship and multiple China Coast Guard (CCG) ships, which attempted to encircle and block the humanitarian mission," the statement said.

"The CCG vessels made close perilous maneuvers that resulted in ramming, blasted horns, and deployed water cannon against the BFAR vessel, eventually leading to the latter's engine failure," according to the statement.

The CCG said it had taken "control measures" against the Philippine vessel, saying the ship had "illegally" entered the waters near the Sabina Shoal and had repeatedly approached its ships in a dangerous manner.

CCG spokesman Gan Yu said the Filipino vessel then "deliberately collided" with a CCG ship, CCTV quoted Gan as saying, adding that China had "promptly rescued the Philippine personnel who fell into the water."

"China warns the Philippines to immediately cease its infringing actions, otherwise the Philippines will bear all consequences resulting from this situation," Gan warned.

Maritime tensions

On Monday, both countries also reported a collision between their coast guard ships near the Sabina Shoal, where both sides have stationed coast guard vessels in recent months.

The Philippines fears China is about to build an artificial island at the shoal, as it has elsewhere in the waterway.

On Saturday, the Philippines accused China of firing flares at one of its aircraft earlier this month as it patrolled the South China Sea.

China claims almost the entire sea, ignoring an international tribunal ruling that its claims have no basis in law.

tj/nm (Reuters, AFP)