Chinese coast guard tries to block Filipino vessels in South China Sea
Chinese coast guard ships backed by a military helicopter attempted unsuccessfully to block two Philippine government vessels carrying scientists from reaching two sandbars in the disputed South China Sea, Philippine officials said on Friday.
Chinese coast guard personnel blew the horn on one of their ships for half an hour and repeatedly transmitted radio warnings during the confrontation on Thursday, but the Filipino scientists managed to complete their fourhour marine and biodiversity research at the barren sandbars called Sandy Cay, the officials said.
The Chinese coast guard gave a different account of the faceoff.
A spokesperson, Gan Yu, said in a statement that its law enforcement officers “boarded” the sandbars, which Beijing calls Tiexian Reef, and dealt with what it called “illegal activities” by 34 Philippine personnel who “ignored China’s warnings and dissuasion”.
It was the latest flareup in increasingly tense territorial disputes that are seen as a potential Asian flashpoint that might bring China and the United States into a conflict if they degenerate into a major armed confrontation.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping territorial claims that have erupted from time to time into brief confrontations in the South China Sea.
Worsening hostilities
Hostilities between China and the Philippines, however, have worsened since last year, resulting in minor collisions at sea and injuries to a few Filipino crewmen, sparking a war of words.
Washington has no territorial claims in the strategic waterway but has questioned China’s claim to virtually the entire seaway.
The United States has repeatedly warned that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack.