South China Sea collision: China, Philippines trade blame

The Philippines and China traded blame on Friday after Manila said a China Coast Guard ship rammed a Philippine fisheries department boat in contested waters of the South China Sea.

Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela said the Chinese vessel hit the BRP Datu Magat Salamat while the Philippine boat was on a maritime patrol to deliver fuel subsidy to fishermen near a shoal in the Spratly Islands.

Tarriela said the China Coast Guard vessel CCG-21585 crossed the stern of the Philippine fisheries bureau vessel at a distance of about 10 meters at 11:04 a.m. He said the Chinese vessel repeated the maneuver nine minutes later and made contact.

Video released by the Philippine Coast Guard shows the Chinese vessel near the stern of the Philippine boat and a crewmember shouting "collision," though the impact is not visible.

China's coast guard later blamed the Philippine vessel. Spokesperson Jiang Lue said it had disregarded repeated warnings and deliberately changed course to cut across the bow of the Chinese coast guard vessel.

Jiang said the Philippine side had seriously violated international law and threatened the safety of Chinese coast guard vessels and personnel. He warned the Philippines to stop what he called infringement and provocation.

The Spratly Islands are a flashpoint in the South China Sea. Beijing claims most of the waterway despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis. The Philippines and China renewed confrontations in the South China Sea in July after a brief period of quiet.