The Philippine Coast Guard on Wednesday accused Chinese patrol boats of attempting to blockade two of their vessels in disputed waters in the South China Sea, calling their maneuvers “very dangerous”.
Despite competing claims from the Philippines, Vietnam or Malaysia, Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, ignoring an international ruling from 2016.
Manila complains that its ships patrolling these disputed waters are regularly spotted or blocked by coast guards or Chinese Navy boats.
According to the Philippine Coast Guard, the latest incident happened on June 30 during a routine operation to resupply sailors on a stranded, derelict ship to mark Manila’s territorial claims on Second Thomas Atoll, about 200 km from the Philippine island of Palawan and beyond than a thousand kilometers away from Hainan Island, the nearest Chinese country.
As they approached the reef, the two Philippine Coast Guard boats escorting the mission were approached by two Chinese Coast Guard vessels.
One of the Chinese ships came up to about 90 meters from the bow of the BRP Malabrigo, forcing its commander to slow down to avoid a collision, Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela told reporters.
“They performed various dangerous maneuvers and even crossed the bows of Philippine Coast Guard vessels. It’s very dangerous at that distance because it can cause a collision,” added Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela in the Western Philippine Sea, according to the designation used by Manila.
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A similar incident occurred in April in a near miss when a Chinese Coast Guard vessel cut off the Philippine Coast Guard vessel, the Malapascua, which was taking journalists to Second Thomas Atoll. An AFP team was on a nearby ship and observed the incident.