Beijing accuses Philippines of ‘deliberately’ colliding with Chinese ship

This Sunday, China accused the Philippines of “deliberately” causing a collision between its coast guard ship and a Philippine supply vessel near a small garrison in the disputed South China Sea, which has become a source of tension.

These two countries, like Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia, dispute sovereignty over several islands and reefs of the Spratly archipelago. Beijing claims all of this, and some are controlled by all local residents.

The Philippines on Sunday blamed the Chinese coast guard for the collision with one of its ships. The Philippine boat “ignored multiple warnings” from the Chinese coast guard and “deliberately caused trouble” before the collision, China’s Foreign Ministry criticized in a statement cited by state television CCTV. China has portrayed its coast guard’s actions as “professional” and “legal.”

Sierra Madre, source of tension

Last month, the Philippines accused the Chinese coast guard of firing water cannons at Philippine ships carrying equipment for troops stationed in Manila-controlled Second Thomas Atoll.

In 1999, the Philippines deliberately grounded the warship BRP Sierra Madre on the atoll with the intention of making it an outpost and asserting its sovereignty claims against China.

Since then, the ship has become a source of tension between Beijing and Manila. The Philippine Marines on board depend on resupply missions to survive.