A Chinese coastguard ship came dangerously close to a Philippine patrol ship in the South China Sea, sparking fears of a territorial dispute in the contested waters.
The Chinese ship manoeuvred and came within 4 metres of the patrol ship near the Second Thomas Shoal. One other Philippine coastguard vessel was blocked and surrounded by the Chinese coastguard and militia ships.
The altercation had dragged on for about eight hours on Wednesday after China formed a blockade in the high seas off the shoal that both nations have laid claim to.
Two supply boats being escorted by the Philippine coastguard had breached the Chinese blockade and delivered food and other supplies to a Filipino marine outpost at the shoal.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The altercation had dragged on for about eight hours on Wednesday after China formed a blockade in the high seas off the shoal that both nations have laid claim to.
They have been violating international law, particularly the collision regulations,” Philippines’ coastguard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said at a briefing.
He said a collision was averted when one of the two Philippine vessels, the BRP Sindangan, rapidly reversed its engine to avoid slamming into the Chinese coastguard ship that crossed its bow at a distance of only a metre.
The hostilities between the two erupted at dawn after the Chinese coastguard ship closely tailed the Philippine vessels enroute to the Second Thomas Shoal.
The long-simmering territorial disputes on the world’s busiest trade routes are considered a sensitive fault line in the US-China rivalry in the region.
A small contingent of Filipino marines and navy personnel has stood guard for years on a long-marooned, but still commissioned warship, the BRP Sierra Madre, at the shoal.
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