Manila: The Philippines and China accused each other on Sunday of responsibility for a maritime confrontation near disputed islands in the South China Sea, marking the latest flare-up of long-standing territorial disputes over the resource-rich waterway. The Philippines reported that a Chinese ship deliberately rammed one of its government vessels in the disputed South China Sea on Sunday, though Beijing shifted the blame to Manila for the incident.
According to France24.com, confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels occur frequently in the contested waterway, which Beijing claims nearly in its entirety despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis. The Philippines stated that a Chinese coast guard ship "fired its water cannon" at the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, a vessel belonging to Manila's fisheries bureau, at 9:15 am (0115 GMT) on Sunday.
In an online statement, spokesman Liu Dejun declared, "Full responsibility lies with the Philippine side." Photos and videos released by the Philippine Coast Guard showed a China Coast Guard vessel, with its activated water cannon, shadowing a Philippine ship. "Despite these bullying tactics and aggressive actions... we will not be intimidated or driven away," the Philippine Coast Guard asserted.
The incident adds to a series of recent confrontations between Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea, a crucial waterway through which more than 60 percent of global maritime trade passes. Last month, the Philippine government reported that one person was injured when a water cannon attack by a China Coast Guard vessel shattered a window on the bridge of another fisheries bureau ship, the BRP Datu Gumbay Piang, near the Beijing-controlled Scarborough Shoal.
Furthermore, in August, a Chinese navy vessel collided with one from its own coast guard while pursuing a Philippine patrol boat near the same shoal. China took control of the fish-rich shoal from the Philippines following a lengthy standoff in 2012. The Philippines had expressed opposition to China's plans for a "nature reserve" there, dismissing it as a pretext for the eventual occupation of the site.
