The Philippines on Monday accused the Chinese Coast Guard of performing “unlawful and aggressive maneuvers” in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), resulting in collisions that damaged two Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels.
“This morning, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels BRP Bagacay (MRRV-4410) and BRP Cape Engaño (MRRV-4411) encountered unlawful and aggressive maneuvers from Chinese Coast Guard vessels while en route to Patag and Lawak Islands in the West Philippine Sea,” said the National Task Force for the West Philippines Sea (NTF-WPS) in a statement.
“These dangerous maneuvers resulted in collisions, causing structural damage to both PCG vessels.”
CCG spokesperson Gan Yu earlier claimed on social media platform Weibo that Philippine vessels BRP Bagacay and BRP Cape Engaño “deliberately” collided with a CCG vessel near Escoda Shoal.
“At 03:24, the Philippine ship No. 4410 (BRP Bagacay) ignored China’s repeated solemn warnings and deliberately collided with China’s 21551 boat, which was normally safeguarding its rights and enforcing the law in an unprofessional and dangerous manner, resulting in a collision,” Gan said.
Despite talks for de-escalation, tensions in WPS continue amid China’s massive claim in the South China Sea (SCS).
The SCS is a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Aside from the Philippines, China has overlapping claims in the area with Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei.
In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China’s massive claims in the SCS, saying it has “no legal basis.”
China, however, does not recognize the decision. —KBK, GMA Integrated News
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