China, Philippines Trade Blame Over South China Sea Confrontation

China and the Philippines traded accusations on Thursday following a confrontation between two of their vessels in contested waters of the South China Sea, the most recent incident in a long-running maritime standoff within the strategic waterway.

The Philippines’ fisheries bureau stated the lives of a civilian crew have been put in danger when the Chinese Coast Guard fired water cannons and sideswiped a vessel because it performed marine analysis round a disputed South China Sea reef.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources condemned what it stated was the “aggressive interference” of the Chinese Coast Guard in opposition to the Datu Sanday and a second ship in Wednesday’s incident, saying its vessels had not beforehand been subjected to water cannons within the space.

The Chinese Coast Guard stated two Philippine vessels had illegally entered waters close to Subi Reef and Sandy Cay and organised personnel to land on Sandy Cay.

The Coast Guard responded with what it described as skilled and lawful management measures and went ashore to confirm and deal with the state of affairs, it stated in a press release.

A collision occurred after one of many Philippine vessels ignored a number of warnings and approached a Chinese vessel dangerously, the Coast Guard stated, inserting full accountability for the incident on the Philippine facet.

The Chinese assertion didn’t point out any use of water cannons.

The US ambassador to Manila, MaryKay Carlson described China’s actions as aggressive and, in a submit on X, stated they “recklessly endangered lives and threaten regional stability.”

Sandy Cay is near Thitu Island, the biggest and most strategically vital of the 9 options the Philippines occupies within the Spratly archipelago, the place China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam even have a presence.

Last month, China stated its Coast Guard had landed on Sandy Cay as a part of operations to train its sovereignty. The Philippines has denied Beijing has seized management of the disputed reef.

China claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, together with areas claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

A 2016 ruling by a world arbitral tribunal discovered Beijing’s sweeping claims had no foundation beneath worldwide legislation, a choice China rejects.

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