Beijing defended its actions on Monday, asserting it was safeguarding its “rights” in the South China Sea, following the release of footage by the Philippines showing a Chinese coast guard vessel allegedly ramming a Philippine ship during a confrontation at sea.
On Saturday, both China and the Philippines accused each other of intentionally ramming their coast guard vessels near a contested shoal in the South China Sea, marking the latest in a series of similar encounters in recent weeks.
The incident occurred near the disputed Sabina Shoal, which is situated 140 kilometers west of the Philippine island of Palawan and about 1,200 kilometers away from Hainan island, the nearest significant Chinese landmass.
Video footage released by the Philippine coast guard appears to show a Chinese vessel approaching from behind and striking the Philippine ship. Another clip also seemed to capture a deliberate collision.
When questioned about the footage on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning reiterated Beijing’s position that the Philippines had “deliberately rammed” the Chinese vessel.
“The root cause of the current situation, or the current escalation of the situation, is that the Philippines sent coast guard ships to linger in the lagoon of the Xianbin Reef for a long time and attempt to permanently occupy it,” Mao said, referring to the shoal by its Chinese name.
“China’s actions on Xianbin Reef are rights protection actions to safeguard China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, which is legal and above-board,” she added.
China claims nearly the entirety of the South China Sea, an area of significant economic importance, despite conflicting claims from other countries and a ruling by an international court that its claims have no legal standing.
According to Philippine coast guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela, Saturday’s collision was the fifth instance of Chinese maritime harassment reported in August.