Philippines reports 'confrontation' with Chinese vessels in South China Sea

Authored by asiaone.com and submitted by poirot100
image for Philippines reports 'confrontation' with Chinese vessels in South China Sea

A China Coast Guard vessel towers over a Philippine Coast Guard vessel at Ayungin Shoal, maintaining a distance of only 50 yards.

MANILA - The Philippines Coast Guard said on Friday (April 28) it was involved in a confrontation with Chinese vessels that made "dangerous maneuvers" in the South China Sea, the latest in a string of tense maritime interactions between the two countries.

The incident occurred as the Coast Guard undertook a week-long patrol in the strategic waterway and as Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang visited Manila last weekend to meet his Philippine counterpart and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

China claims most of the South China Sea, through which an estimated $3 trillion of dollars worth of goods pass each year. The Philippines has repeatedly called on Beijing to stop its "aggressive activities" in the area.

The Coast Guard said that during the April 18-24 mission, it identified more than 100 "alleged Chinese maritime militia vessels, a People's Liberation Army Navy corvette class and two China Coast Guard vessels" within the Philippines' 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

ALSO READ: Philippines, China commit to working on resolving differences

It added that one Chinese vessel "carried out dangerous maneuvers" at a distance of about 150 feet from a Philippine ship. Two other ships exhibited "aggressive tactics", posing a "significant threat to the safety and security of the Philippine vessel and its crew", it added.

The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In February, the Philippine Coast Guard said a Chinese counterpart ship had directed a "military-grade laser" at one of its ships supporting a resupply mission to troops in the disputed waterway, temporarily blinding its crew on the bridge.

Extreme-Outrageous on April 28th, 2023 at 19:14 UTC »

"One day the great Asian war will come out of some damned foolish thing in the South China Sea."

Bismark said that right?

untitledmillennial on April 28th, 2023 at 17:32 UTC »

For reference, this is the location of the incident. Note how close it is to the Philippines and how it's nowhere near China.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Second+Thomas+Shoal/@-3.6942003,111.6787752,5z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x33cd4f97f792c6f1:0xb9904531fbcbd352!8m2!3d9.7502478!4d115.8640062!16s%2Fm%2F0100mbqq?shorturl=1

poirot100 on April 28th, 2023 at 15:27 UTC »

SS:

The Philippines Coast Guard said on Friday (April 28) it was involved in a confrontation with Chinese vessels that made "dangerous maneuvers" in the South China Sea, the latest in a string of tense maritime interactions between the two countries.

The incident occurred as the Coast Guard undertook a week-long patrol in the strategic waterway and as Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang visited Manila last weekend to meet his Philippine counterpart and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

China claims most of the South China Sea, through which an estimated $3 trillion of dollars worth of goods pass each year. The Philippines has repeatedly called on Beijing to stop its "aggressive activities" in the area.

The Coast Guard said that during the April 18-24 mission, it identified more than 100 "alleged Chinese maritime militia vessels, a People's Liberation Army Navy corvette class and two China Coast Guard vessels" within the Philippines' 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

It added that one Chinese vessel "carried out dangerous maneuvers" at a distance of about 150 feet from a Philippine ship. Two other ships exhibited "aggressive tactics", posing a "significant threat to the safety and security of the Philippine vessel and its crew", it added.