MANILA, Philippines — A Chinese coast guard ship and an accompanying vessel rammed a Philippine coast guard ship and a military-run provide boat Sunday off a contested shoal, Philippine officers mentioned, in an encounter that heightened fears of an armed battle within the disputed South China Sea.
A high Philippine safety official advised The Associated Press there have been no accidents among the many Filipino crew members and an evaluation of the injury to each vessels was underway.
The official mentioned that the 2 incidents close to Second Thomas Shoal, the place China has repeatedly tried to isolate a Philippine marine outpost, might have been worse if the vessels weren’t in a position to maneuver quickly away from the Chinese ships. The official spoke on situation of anonymity on account of an absence of authority to publicly focus on the matter.
China’s sweeping territorial claims within the South China Sea, together with over islands nearer to Philippine shore, have raised tensions and introduced within the United States, a longtime treaty ally of the Philippines, into the fray.
The U.S. ambassador to Manila, MaryKay Carlson, wrote on X, previously Twitter, that “the United States condemns the PRC’s latest disruption of a legal Philippine resupply mission to Ayungin shoal, putting the lives of Filipino service members at risk.”
She used the initials for China’s formal identify, the People’s Republic of China, and the identify the Philippines makes use of for Second Thomas Shoal. She added that Washington was standing with its allies to assist shield Philippine sovereignty and to assist a free and open Indo-Pacific area.
The Chinese coast guard mentioned the Philippine vessels “trespassed” into what it mentioned had been Chinese waters “without authorization” regardless of repeated radio warnings, prompting its ships to cease them. It blamed the Philippine vessels for inflicting the collisions.
“The Philippine side’s behavior seriously violates the international rules on avoiding collisions at sea and threatens the navigation safety of our vessels,” the Chinese coast guard mentioned in an announcement posted on its web site.
The Chinese authorities mentioned that they had been stopping Philippines ships that carried “illegal construction” supplies.
A Philippine authorities activity pressure coping with the South China Sea mentioned the collisions occurred as two Philippine provide boats escorted by two Philippine coast guard ships had been heading to ship meals and different provides to the navy outpost that has been underneath a Chinese blockade.
The actions of the Chinese ships had been “in utter blatant disregard of the United Nations Charter, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea” and worldwide rules that purpose to stop sea collisions, it mentioned.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”