(Manila) Manila summoned the Chinese ambassador on Monday after two collisions between Chinese and Philippine ships in the disputed South China Sea, a representative of Philippine diplomacy reported.
“We make full use of [mécanismes] diplomatic […] at our disposal. This includes summoning the Chinese ambassador, which we did this morning” on Monday, Philippine Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Teresita Daza told reporters.
Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian was unavailable and was represented by his deputy head of mission at the meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Ayungin Shoal is part of our exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, and we have sovereign rights and jurisdiction over it,” added Mr.me Daza using the Filipino name of the atoll.
Manila and Beijing blame each other for two collisions that occurred Sunday near the Second Thomas Shoal atoll in the Spratlys, where the Philippine navy is stationed and where Beijing deploys ships to assert its claims to almost the entire maritime territory .
The collisions came as the Philippines was conducting a routine resupply mission for its troops at a remote outpost in the South China Sea – a military boat that Manila deliberately ran aground on the atoll in 1999.
“The dangerous blocking maneuvers of the ship 5203 Chinese coast guard caused it to collide with the supply boat […] under contract with the Armed Forces of the Philippines” some 25 km from the coral island, blasted a Philippine government intervention force.
IMAGE FROM PHILIPPINE ARMY VIDEO VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
This image from a video released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines shows a Chinese coast guard vessel after it collided with a Philippine supply boat as it approached the Second Thomas Shoa Atoll in the China Sea disputed southern region, October 22.
China cited a “slight collision” after the Philippine boat ignored “multiple warnings and deliberately crossed law enforcement in an unprofessional and dangerous manner,” according to public television CCTV, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In another incident, a Philippine Coast Guard vessel escorting the resupply mission was “struck” by what Manila called a “Chinese maritime militia vessel.”
PHOTO ERIK DE CASTRO, REUTERS ARCHIVES
The BRP Sierra Madre
Beijing, however, accused the Philippine boat of having “deliberately” caused a collision by backing up in a “premeditated” manner towards a Chinese fishing vessel.
Mr. Huang was last summoned by Manila in August, after the Chinese coast guard used a water cannon on Philippine ships near the same atoll.