3 ay önce

Philippines accuses China of 'dangerous' manoeuvres in South China Sea

Video shows a close encounter between Philippine and Chinese Coast Guard ships during a patrol near the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

AFP

Two months prior, China and the Philippines had tense standoffs over disputed South China Sea reefs. / Photo: AFP

The Philippine Coast Guard has accused Chinese vessels of "dangerous" manoeuvres during a nine-day patrol near a reef off the coast of the Southeast Asian country.

The Philippine Coast Guard said in a statement on Sunday that Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels "performed dangerous and blocking manoeuvres at sea against BRP Teresa Magbanua four times, with the CCG vessels crossing the bow of the PCG vessel twice".

The Coast Guard said its ship was also "shadowed" by four Chinese Coast Guard vessels "on more than 40 occasions".

The statement also observed what it described as "four Chinese Maritime Militia vessels".

The Philippine vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua was deployed in early February to patrol the waters around Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing ground in the South China Sea, and deliver provisions to Filipino fishermen and ensure their safety.

Videos released by the Philippine Coast Guard show a Chinese Coast Guard vessel metres from the BRP Teresa Magbanua port beam before it crosses the path of the Filipino boat.

"Nevertheless, the PCG vessel professionally engaged both the CCG and CMM vessels through radio reiterating the clear and principled position of the Philippines in accordance with international law," the statement said.

The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Philippines, China accuse each other over collisions in disputed sea

Escalating tensions in South China Sea

Scarborough Shoal is 240 kilometres west of the Philippines' main island of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometres from the nearest major Chinese land mass of Hainan.

The reef has been a flashpoint between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012.

Since then, Beijing has deployed patrol boats that Manila says harass Philippine vessels and prevent Filipino fishermen from reaching the lagoon where fish are more plentiful.

The incidents came two months after tense standoffs between China and the Philippines around disputed reefs in the South China Sea that saw a collision between vessels from the two countries and Chinese ships blasting water cannons at Philippine boats.

China claims almost the entire sea and has ignored an international tribunal ruling that its assertions have no legal basis.

It deploys boats to patrol the busy waterway and has built artificial islands that it has militarised to reinforce its claims.

Chinese and Philippine officials last month agreed on the need for closer dialogue to deal with "maritime emergencies" in the waterway as tensions escalated.