China once again urges the Philippines to take seriously China’s concerns, stop making provocations and creating troubles at sea, and stop groundlessly attacking and slandering China, and tow away the illegally “grounded” warship, so that the peace and stability of the South China Sea will not be jeopardized and the common interests of countries in the region will not be affected, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Sunday.
China and the Philippines traded accusations over a collision in disputed waters of the South China Sea in the latest of a series of maritime confrontations.
The collision underscores the ongoing tensions in the South China Sea, a region embroiled in territorial disputes.
The incident has drawn international condemnation, with the Unites States expressing its concerns on social media.
The United States condemned China’s disruption of the resupply mission, stating that it puts the lives of Filipino crew members at risk.
China´s Foreign Ministry spokesperson noted that “Chinese vessels blocked Philippine vessels in an attempt to send construction materials to its illegally “grounded” warship at Ren’ai Jiao.”
Specifically, in accordance with China´s spokesperson, two civil vessels on October 22 and two coast guard vessels of the Philippines intruded the waters of Ren’ai Jiao in China’s Nansha Qundao.
“In disregard of the warnings of the China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels, they went headlong towards Ren’ai Jiao’s lagoon and bumped dangerously with the CCG ships conducting law enforcement on the scene and the Chinese fishing vessels having normal fishing activities there.”
When asked for comments, Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that recently the Philippines has taken a series of steps at Ren’ai Jiao that seriously violate China’s territorial sovereignty. China has made serious demarches to the Philippines on multiple occasions.
The spokesperson reiterated the following points.
“Let me stress that Ren’ai Jiao is part of China’s Nansha Qundao and China’s territory. The Philippines illegally “grounded” its warship at Ren’ai Jiao. This seriously violates China’s territorial sovereignty. The Philippines explicitly promised several times to tow away the military vessel deliberately and illegally “grounded” at Ren’ai Jiao. However, 24 years have passed and instead of towing it away, the Philippines has sought to repair and reinforce it on a large scale in order to permanently occupy Ren’ai Jiao,” he commented.
Manila responded by condemning “in the strongest degree” the “dangerous blocking maneuvers” of the Chinese vessel.
China’s “dangerous, irresponsible and illegal actions” were “in violation of Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction,” Manila’s Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said in a statement.
The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea reported that while conducting a regular and routine rotation and resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre, dangerous blocking maneuvers of the china coast guard vessel caused it to collide with the Armed Forces of the Philippines-contracted Unaiza May 2 boat.
In the same mission, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel was “bumped” by a Chinese maritime militia vessel “while it was lying” approximately 6.4 nautical miles northeast off Ayungin Shoal.
The collision has brought the ongoing tensions and disputes in the South China Sea to the forefront.
“The United States stands with our Philippine allies in the face of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Coast Guard and maritime militia’s dangerous and unlawful actions obstructing an October 22 Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea,” the US department of state office spokesperson said in a press release yesterday.
