(Beijing) China on Friday accused the Philippines of “deliberately” wanting to cause an incident in disputed waters in the South China Sea, after two coastguard vessels from each country had a near-miss collision.
In its response to Beijing, Manila assures that “routine patrols in our own waters cannot be premeditated or provocative” and are “a legal right that we have exercised and will continue to exercise”.
The incident occurred near the Spratly Islands on Sunday, a day after Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang held talks in the Philippine capital with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr aimed precisely at defusing discord in those contested waters. Mr. Marcos is soon to meet his US counterpart Joe Biden at the White House over rising regional tensions.
A Chinese Coast Guard vessel cut off a Philippine Coast Guard vessel half the size and they ended up 45 meters apart, narrowly avoiding a collision, according to the boat’s captain Filipino on board which were journalists.
An AFP team, invited to a second Philippine building to participate in a six-day patrol, witnessed the unfolding of the incident, the latest in a long series.
Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, ignoring a 2016 international judgment that found its claims to have no legal basis.
China has redeveloped and militarized there, over the past ten years, thousands of hectares of reefs where landing strips, ports and radar systems have grown.
On Sunday, two Philippine Coast Guard vessels headed for Second Thomas Reef (Ren’ai for China, Ayungin for the Philippines).
The latter is located about 200 km from the Philippine island of Palawan and more than a thousand kilometers from the nearest Chinese lands, namely the island of Hainan.
As the “Malapuasca” approached the reef, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel suddenly cut her off. A collision was on the verge of happening.
“By rushing into the waters of Ren’ai Reef with journalists on board, the Philippine boat committed a premeditated provocation and deliberately sought confrontation to generate media hype,” a diplomatic spokeswoman said Friday. Chinese, Mao Ning.
The crew of the Chinese boat acted “professionally and with restraint”, she said.
According to her, “the Chinese Coast Guard vessel ensured the security of China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime order in accordance with law, while taking appropriate measures to avoid the dangerous approach of Philippine boats and avoid a collision “.
His counterpart in the Philippines, Teresita Daza, accused the Chinese coast guard of putting the Filipino crew in “serious danger”.
“The Chinese Coast Guard’s interference with this routine patrol was in complete contravention of freedom of navigation and a number of recorded incidents also involved extremely dangerous maneuvers contrary to normal navigational practice,” Ms. Daza added.
During the six days of the Philippine patrol, Chinese vessels, including coastguards, appeared several times, following the two Philippine vessels and ordering them to leave, said the commander of the Malapascua, Rodel Hernandez.
These Filipino boats had however signaled their intention to navigate in this sector, specifying that they wanted to carry out a “site survey”. They had asked the Chinese ships to “stay clear”.
Since assuming the Philippine presidency last June, Ferdinand Marcos Jr has vowed that he will not let China encroach on his country’s maritime rights.
To do this, he seeks to improve relations with the United States, a long-time ally of the Philippines, damaged by his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte.
Their cooperation in the South China Sea has therefore intensified. At the beginning of April, Manila made four new military bases available to Washington, including a naval base, not far from Taiwan, to the chagrin of Beijing.
