A Philippine boat on a resupply mission was rammed by a Chinese coast guard vessel on Sunday, the Philippine coast guard said, a day after another confrontation in the disputed South China Sea.
A Chinese ship also “fired water cannon” at three Philippine ships participating in the resupply mission, causing “serious damage to the engine” of one of the boats, Jay Tarriela, a guard spokesperson, said on X -coasts for the West Philippine Sea.
China for its part accused a Philippine ship on Sunday of having “deliberately collided” with a Chinese coast guard vessel.
On Sunday morning, four Philippine vessels “illegally entered” the waters of the Spratly Islands claimed by China, the Chinese coast guard said in a statement, adding that a Philippine vessel “disregarded our multiple and severe warnings […] “.
The Philippine vessel “suddenly changed direction in an unprofessional and dangerous manner, deliberately colliding with our Coast Guard vessel 21556 which was on a normal law enforcement route and causing a scrape,” they said. the Chinese coast guard in the press release.
The incident near Second Thomas, an atoll in the Spratly Islands, came a day after another confrontation between Chinese coast guards who “impeded” three Philippine government boats resupplying with water cannons. Filipino fishermen near the Scarborough Shoal, a reef controlled by Beijing off the Philippine island of Luzon.
Manila and Beijing have a long history of maritime disputes in the South China Sea through which billions of dollars of goods pass each year.
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, including waters and islands near its neighbors’ coasts, and has ignored an international court’s ruling in 2016 rejecting the claim without legal basis.
The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim several reefs and islets in this sea, some areas of which could contain rich oil reserves.