Ships from China and the Philippines have collided during a confrontation in the disputed South China Sea, with each blaming the other for the incident.
The collision took place at 3:24am local time on Monday (19:24 GMT on Sunday) at Sabina Shoal, which lies about 140km (86 miles) west of the Philippine island of Palawan, the closest major land mass.
China Coast Guard spokesperson Gan Yu accused the Philippines of “illegally” entering the waters around the disputed atoll and deliberately colliding with the Chinese ship.
“The China Coast Guard took control measures against the Philippine vessels in accordance with the law,” Gan said.
The Spratlys, also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam, lie more than 1,300km (808 miles) from China’s Hainan Island.
Manila’s National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea disputed the Chinese account. It said it was China that was at fault and that Beijing’s vessels were conducting “unlawful and aggressive manoeuvres” near the shoal causing damage to two of its coastguard ships.
The confrontation “resulted in collisions causing structural damage to both Philippine Coast Guard [PCG] vessels”, it said. It shared photos showing the damage to the ships.
Manila said the coastguard vessels – Cape Engano and Bagacay – were on their way to resupply personnel stationed on Flat Island when the collision took place.
As well as the damage to the Cape Engano, it said the Bagacay “was rammed twice” to both port and starboard by a Chinese coastguard vessel, which resulted in “minor structural damage”.
“The PCG stands firm in its responsibility to ensure the safety and security of our maritime domain while addressing any threats to our national interests,” the statement said.
Tensions have been rising between Manila and Beijing, which claims almost the entire South China Sea under its so-called nine-dash line despite an international court ruling in 2016 that it was without merit.
The Sabina Shoal collision comes less than two weeks after an air incident between the Chinese and Philippines militaries in Scarborough Shoal, which Beijing seized from Manila in 2012.
In July, the two countries said they had reached a “provisional agreement” over the Second Thomas Shoal following repeated altercations there over resupply missions to a group of Filipino sailors who live on board a navy ship which was grounded there in 1999.
The Philippine Coast Guard deployed one of its key patrol ships, the BRP Teresa Magbanua, to Sabina in April after Filipino scientists discovered submerged piles of crushed corals in its shallows fuelling suspicions that China might be planning to build a structure in the atoll.
The China Coast Guard later deployed a ship to Sabina.
Sabina is near Second Thomas Shoal.
