China and the Philippines have blamed one another after vessels from their coast guards collided near Sabina Shoal, an atoll in the South China Sea that both countries claim sovereignty over. At least two boats were damaged in the incident early on Monday morning near Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands, which is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.
The collision happened at 3.24am after two Philippines coast guard vessels entered waters near the shoal where the Chinese coast guard were patrolling. The Chinese coast guard said a Philippines boat deliberately crashed into a Chinese vessel.
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“The Philippine side is entirely responsible for the collision,” spokesman Gan Yu said.
“We warn the Philippine side to immediately stop its infringement and provocation, otherwise it will bear all the consequences arising from that.”
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There was another collision 16 minutes later when, according to the Philippines National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea, one of its coast guard vessels was rammed twice by a Chinese boat, suffering structural damage. The Philippines coast guard uses Sabina Shoal as a meeting point for vessels that are resupplying forces on the Sierra Madre, a second World War ship grounded on the Second Thomas Shoal.
There have been a number of incidents involving clashes between Chinese and Philippines boats in recent months as China has sought to block the resupply missions. Beijing hopes that the ship will decompose, leaving the Second Thomas Shoal unoccupied and facilitating the assertion of its claim to it.
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The two sides reached a provisional agreement last month to allow the resupply of Philippines forces while the Chinese coast guard observed the procedure. Philippines taskforce spokesman Jonathan Malaya expressed disappointment over Monday’s collisions but said the supply missions to both Sabina Shoal and the Second Thomas Shoal would continue.
“The Philippine Coast Guard stands firm in its responsibility to ensure the safety and security of our maritime domain while addressing any threats to our national interests,” he said.
“The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea urges restraint and adherence to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and other relevant international laws to prevent further escalations and ensure the safety of all vessels operating in the region.”
China has become more assertive in its territorial claims to a number of reefs and islands in the South and East China Seas over the past decade despite a 2016 UN arbitration ruling dismissing all the claims. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, an important shipping route, putting it in dispute with Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 ruled unanimously that there was no legal basis for China’s claim to historic rights to resources within the waters around the so-called “nine-dash line”.
The arbitration court also ruled that China’s holdings in the Spratly Islands were legally rocks which did not generate an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles or a continental shelf.
Beijing was defiant on Monday, blaming Manila for the collisions, which foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said were caused by the dangerous actions of the Philippines coast guard.
“Not only did they ignore China’s coast guard’s warnings, the vessels deliberately collided into Chinese coast guard vessels that were carrying out law-enforcement operations in a dangerous manner,” she said.
“We hope the Philippines will keep its promise, earnestly abide by the preliminary agreement it has reached with China, and not take actions that could complicate the situation so as to work with us to jointly manage and control the maritime situation.”
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