Beijing confirms collision

Beijing yesterday confirmed that a Chinese vessel hit a Philippine fishing boat in a collision which has increased tensions in the disputed South China Sea but denied claims it was a "hit and run."

The Chinese trawler sailed away after the incident Sunday near Reed Bank or Recto Bank that sank the fishing boat, sparking outrage from Philippine authorities and media.

While President Duterte has largely set aside the once tense stand-off with China over the resource-rich waterway, many in the Philippines bristle at Beijing's actions in the sea.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila said the crew of trawler Yuemaobinyu 42212 "bumped into" the Philippine boat and then left due to safety fears.

"The Chinese captain tried to rescue the Filipino fisherman, but was afraid of being besieged by other Filipino fishing boats," the statement said.

It went on to say the incident was not a hit-and-run, as some Philippine authorities had claimed, because the trawler "confirmed the fishermen from the Filipino boat were rescued."

However, the 22 fishermen told a very different story, saying they had spent hours in the water awaiting help.

The ramming of the Filipino fishing vessel is highly likely intentional, Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said.

“It is thus highly likely that a Chinese maritime militia vessel rammed the Filipino fishing vessel F/B Gimver 1,” Carpio said.

Carpio warned that the incident could be a start of Chinese aggression to keep Philippine vessels away from waters China claims.

“This may signal the start of a new ‘gray zone’ offensive by China to drive away Filipino fishing vessels in the West Philippine Sea, in the same way that China is driving away Vietnamese fishing vessels in the Paracels,” the SC magistrate stated.

“The Filipino people must take a strong stand against this latest aggressive act of China,” he stressed.

Carpio asked Filipinos to “demand from China compensation for the owner of F/B Gimver 1, and punishment for the captain and crew of the Chinese vessel that rammed in hit-and-run fashion F/B Gimver 1.”