Sabina Shoal lies near the Philippine-controlled Second Thomas Shoal, which witnessed the scene of increasingly alarming confrontations between Chinese and Philippine Coast Guard ships and accompanying vessels since last year.
The Philippines claimed that the Chinese coast guard blocked an effort to evacuate a sick personnel of its forces on May 19 at the Second Thomas Shoal. The two countries have had a series of confrontations in the past as Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea.
The Fujian, which features a full-length, flat flight deck with an advanced catapult-launch system for jets, takes its name from the Chinese province opposite democratically governed Taiwan.
India on Friday delivered the first batch of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines as part of a $375 million deal struck in 2022. China is currently locked in a conflict with the Philippines over maritime disputes in the South China Sea.
According to a statement from the People's Liberation Army Southern Theater, a Chinese naval force was mobilised to track the USS Gabrielle Giffords during the operation. The US Navy did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
This incident comes a week after Chinese vessels installed a 300 m-long barrier near the Scarborough Shoal to block Filipino boats and vessels. The Philippines has repeatedly accused Beijing of flouting international law.
Filipino fishermen reportedly said that Chinese vessels install floating barriers when they monitor their presence in the disputed area.
The construction activity appears to be taken place in the Triton Island of Paracel group, which was seized by China from Vietnam in a naval conflict in 1974.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters at a daily briefing that China would keep taking measures it deems necessary to safeguard its sovereignty.
It is worth mentioning that Beijing claims the South China Sea virtually in its entirety, putting it on a collision course with other claimants.
The review said Australia is facing a “radically different” strategic environment, including a military build-up by China, which is “the largest and most ambitious of any country since the end of the (World War II).”
The United States, on several occasions, termed sailing in the South China Sea as their international navigation rights, while Beijing called it "illegal".
The incident happened earlier last week while supporting a rotation and resupply (RoRe) mission of the Philippine Navy (PN) in Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.
According to the US Air Force, the"unethical behaviour" of the Chinese navy fighter jet forced the American pilot to manoeuvre to avoid a collision.
"The Security Council is not a suitable place to discuss the South China Sea issue,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in its first reaction to the high-level UNSC meeting on maritime security.
As India holds the council presidency this month and chaired the virtual meeting, PM Modi warned that the world’s oceans and seas which are the common heritage of all nations and peoples are facing various threats.
The agreement on the 'Single Draft COC Negotiating Text' was announced ar a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in Singapore on Thursday.
US Defence Secretary James Mattis has accused China of intimidation and coercion because of its military build-up and deployment of high-end weapons in the disputed waters of South China Sea.
Addressing the media, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said, "We're well aware of China's militarisation of the South China Sea.
The missile which underwent another test -- the eighth since it was first announced in 2012 -- could be in the People Liberation Army's line-up as early as the first half of 2018, state-run Global Times said.
Top News
Latest News
