The Chinese coast guard has accused the Philippines of deliberately crashing one of its ships into a Chinese vessel in the early hours of Monday near Sabina Shoal, a new flashpoint of territorial contention between the countries in the South China Sea. A spokesperson issued a statement on the Chinese Coast Guard's website and said that two Filipino Coast Guard ships entered waters near Sabina shoal, which ignored the Chinese Coast Guard's warning and “deliberately collided” with one of China's boats at 3:24 a.m.
Spokesman Gan Yu emphasised that the Philippine side is entirely responsible for the collision while warning them by saying “We warn the Philippine side to immediately stop its infringement and provocation, otherwise it will bear all the consequences arising from that.”
Chinese spokesperson reiterates claim on Spartleys
Meanwhile, Gan also reiterated the Chinese “indisputable sovereignty” claim over the Spratly Islands, known in Chinese as Nansha Islands, including Sabina Shoal and its adjacent waters. Notably, the Chinese name for Sabina Shoal is Xianbin Reef.In another statement, gan said the Philippine ship entered waters near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal was turned away from Sabina Shoal. “The Chinese coast guard took control measures against the Philippine ship in accordance with law and regulation,” he added. However, the Philippine authorities did not immediately comment on the encounter or accusations near Spartleys, where Vietnam and Taiwan also make overlapping claims.
Sabina Shoal, new flashpoint
It must be noted here that Sabina Shoal lies about 140 kilometres west of the Philippines' western island province of Palawan. It has become a new flashpoint in the territorial disputes between the Philippines and China. The island nation deployed one of its key Coast Guard patrol ships, the BRP Teresa Magbanua, to Sabina in April after Filipino scientists discovered submerged piles of crushed corals in its shallows, sparking suspicions that China may be bracing to build a structure in the atoll. Later, the Chinese coast guard also deployed a ship to Sabina.
(With AP inputs)
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