Philippines and China blame each other after ship collision in South China Sea

Beijing/Manila: The Philippines and China accused each other on Monday of ramming ships and carrying out dangerous maneuvers in the South China Sea, the latest outcry after the two countries agreed to try to reduce tensions and resolve differences at sea.

The Chinese coast guard said in a statement that a Philippine ship collided with a Chinese vessel in the disputed waterway early Monday “intentionally and in an unprofessional and dangerous manner,” despite ignoring repeated warnings.

The Philippines contradicted Beijing's account, saying two of its coast guard vessels encountered “unlawful and aggressive maneuvers” by Chinese vessels near Sabina Reef while on their way to supply Filipino personnel stationed on two occupied islands.

“These dangerous maneuvers resulted in collisions and caused structural damage to both Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels,” said Jonathan Malaya, a spokesman for the National Security Council and South China Sea Task Force in Manila.

Manila said the coast guard vessels Cape Engano and Bagacay were on their way to resupply personnel stationed on Flat Island (Manila calls it Patag and Lawak Island, China calls it Nanshan) when the maritime confrontation occurred near Sabina Shoal.

At around 3:24 a.m. on Monday (7:24 p.m. GMT on Sunday), a collision occurred between Cape Engano and a Chinese coast guard ship, Manila said.

About 16 minutes later, the Philippine coast guard ship Bagacay was “rammed twice” by a Chinese coast guard vessel, causing “minor structural damage,” Manila added.

The Chinese Coast Guard released a short video of the incident showing the collision with one of its vessels.

China's maritime safety authority said the same Philippine ship involved in the collision subsequently entered waters near the Second Thomas Reef after being prevented from entering the waters of the Sabina Reef.

Sabina Shoal is part of the Spratly Islands, which are claimed by China, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Two Philippine Coast Guard vessels “illegally entered the waters adjacent to Sabina Reef” early Monday morning without permission, said Gan Yu, spokesman for the Chinese Coast Guard.

“The Philippines has repeatedly provoked and caused trouble and violated the temporary agreements between China and the Philippines,” Gan said, referring to the Philippines' supply missions to a ship that ran aground on the Second Thomas Reef.