China accuses Philippine vessels of ‘dangerous manoeuvres' after its own ships collided
Video released by Manila showed a China coast guard ship and a much larger vessel bearing the number 164 on its hull colliding with a loud crash.
BEIJING – China's defence ministry accused Philippine coast guard vessels of 'dangerous manoeuvres' in response to reports of the collision on Aug 11 between two Chinese vessels near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels' actions 'seriously endangered the safety of Chinese vessels and personnel', ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin said on Aug 15 .
Mr Jiang neither confirmed nor denied that there had been a collision involving two Chinese vessels on Aug 11.
'We demand that the Philippine side immediately stop its infringing and provocative rhetoric and actions,' he said. 'China reserves the right to take necessary countermeasures.'
The Philippines on Aug 15 said it bore no responsibility for the collision.
'It was an unfortunate outcome, but not one caused by our actions,' Manila's foreign minister Theresa Lazaro said in a statement.
The Scarborough Shoal has been a major source of tension in what is a strategic conduit for more than US$3 trillion (S$3.85 trillion) of annual ship-borne commerce.
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Footage from the Philippine Coast Guard showed a Chinese Coast Guard ship trailing the PCG vessel before a Chinese navy ship suddenly cut across the path of the former, colliding with it and damaging the forecastle of the coast guard vessel.
It was the first known crash between Chinese vessels in the area.
Additional footage and photos released later by the Philippine Coast Guard showed the stricken Chinese vessel still afloat, but with its entire bow crumpled inward.
The Philippine Coast Guard deployed three vessels on Aug 11 to deliver supplies for Filipino fishermen in the Scarborough Shoal before the collision took place, Manila said on Aug 12.
The Aug 11 incident is the latest in a series of confrontations between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely despite an international ruling that the assertion has no legal basis.
More than 60 per cent of global maritime trade passes through the disputed waterway. REUTERS, AFP
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