Sharp accusations from Beijing
Chinese and Philippine ships collide
17.06.2024, 08:39
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With military demonstrations of power, China is underlining its claim to large parts of the South China Sea. Other neighboring countries do not recognize this. Now there is another incident involving a Philippine ship.
According to information from Beijing, a Chinese and a Philippine ship collided in the South China Sea. According to the Chinese coast guard, the Philippine supply ship ignored “numerous requests from the Chinese side” and approached in an “unprofessional manner”. This led to a collision in the area of the Spratly Islands.
According to the coast guard, the Philippine ship had “illegally” entered the waters off the Second Thomas Reef. “The Chinese coast guard has taken control measures against the Philippine ship in accordance with the law,” the statement continued.
China claims practically the entire South China Sea for itself. However, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam also lay claim to parts of the sea area. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague declared some of the Chinese claims to be unlawful. However, Beijing does not recognise the ruling. Beijing uses its coast guard boats, among other things, to patrol the area. There are repeated clashes between ships from China and the Philippines.
Dispute over US Navy passage
Most recently, there was also a dispute over the passage of a US Navy ship. “The actions of the USA seriously violate Chinese sovereignty and security,” a Chinese military spokesman said in early May. The USA was thus creating “security risks in the South China Sea” and was the “biggest destroyer of peace and stability in the region.”
According to the report, the destroyer USS Halsey, armed with guided missiles, had “illegally and without permission from Chinese authorities entered Chinese territorial waters near the Xisha Islands.” “Xisha Islands” is the Chinese term for the Paracel Islands. The US Navy confirmed the ship’s passage and stated that it had thereby “asserted navigation rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands.”