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Chinese ship stranded near Philippine outpost in South China Sea amid storm
In this image made from video provided by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Public Affairs Office, a Chinese vessel passes shallow waters off Philippines-occupied Thitu island in the disputed South China Sea. AP
A Chinese ship struck aground in severe weather in shallow seas off a Philippine-occupied island in the disputed South China Sea, causing Filipino soldiers to be on high alert, Philippine military authorities said Sunday.
When Filipino forces determined that the Chinese fishing vessel had run aground in the shallows east of Thitu Island due to bad weather on Saturday, Philippine military and coast guard personnel deployed to assist, but later discovered that the ship had been extricated, regional navy spokesperson Ellaine Rose Collado stated.
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Collado said no more data were immediately available, such as if crew members were injured or the ship was damaged.
Confrontations have spiked between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and navy ships in the disputed waters in recent years.
'The alertness of our troops is always there,' Col. Xerxes Trinidad of the Armed Forces of the Philippines told reporters. But when they saw that a probable accident had happened, 'we tried to provide assistance as professionals' in accordance with international law on helping distressed vessels at sea.
'We're always following international law,' Trinidad said.
Filipino villagers living in a fishing village on Thitu, which they call Pagasa island, immediately informed the Philippine military and coast guard after seeing the Chinese ship lying in the shallows about 1.5 nautical miles (2.7 kilometers) from their village, said MP Albayda, a local Filipino official, told The Associated Press.
'They got worried because the Chinese were so close but it was really the strong wind and waves that caused the ship to run aground,' said Albayda, adding that other Chinese ships pulled the stricken vessel away.
The stricken ship resembled what the Philippine military had repeatedly said were suspected Chinese militia ships, which had backed the Chinese coast guard and navy in blocking and harassing Philippine coast guard and military vessels in the disputed waters, a busy conduit for global trade and commerce.
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Thitu Island is home to a Philippine fishing village and Filipino forces and is the largest of nine islands and islets occupied by the Philippines. It lies about 26 kilometers (16 miles) from Subi Reef, which China transformed into an island base along with six other barren reefs to reinforce its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea.
Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are also involved in the long-simmering territorial standoffs, an Asian flashpoint that many fear could pit China and the United States in a major conflict.
The U.S. does not lay any claim to the South China Sea but has repeatedly warned that it's obligated to defend the Philippines, it's longtime treaty ally, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.
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