Beijing blames Manila for the collision, saying the ship ‘ignored repeated stern warnings from the Chinese side’
A Chinese ship “deliberately rammed” a Philippine government vessel anchored near an island in a disputed part of the South China Sea, Manila’s coast guard said on Sunday.
Confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels occur frequently in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims nearly in its entirety despite an international ruling that the claim has no legal basis.
The Philippines said a Chinese coast guard ship “fired its water cannon” at the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, a vessel belonging to Manila’s fisheries bureau, at 9.15am on Sunday.
“Just three minutes later … the same [Chinese] vessel deliberately rammed the stern” of the Philippine boat, “causing minor structural damage but no injuries to the crew”, the statement said.
