Global Courant
ISTANBUL
On Thursday, China disputed allegations that the Philippines had “blocked” the passage of two of Beijing’s ships in the disputed South China Sea.
“Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels entered the waters off the Ren’ai Reef on June 30 without China’s permission,” said Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Beijing was responding to allegations by PCG spokesperson, Filipino Admiral Jay Tarriela, that two Chinese ships made risky maneuvers to prevent the two PCG ships from accessing Ayungin Shoal for a mission in the West Philippine Sea on June 30.
“The Rhine’ai Reef is part of China’s Nansha Islands,” Wang said.
Ayungin Shoal is known as the Ren’ai Reef in China.
“Chinese coast guard vessels have carried out law enforcement activities to protect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime order,” Wang said, confirming that the PCG and CCG had met in disputed waters.
Manila and Beijing have counterclaims in the disputed South China Sea.
“The Chinese operation was professional and legal,” Wang said, according to the Chinese newspaper Global Times.
However, Tarriela said that during the operation, the PCG ship was “constantly pursued, harassed and blocked by much larger Chinese Coast Guard vessels from about 100 yards”.
He said the Philippine Navy was “concerned about the presence of two Chinese Navy ships” on the western island of Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal).
“This is particularly worrying as the Philippine Navy’s naval operation is purely humanitarian in nature. Despite this, the Chinese are raising even greater concerns by deploying their warships,” he said.
In April, China and the Philippines made conflicting claims about an incident involving ships from their maritime neighbours.
“On the morning of April 23, 2023, two China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels intercepted PCG vessels in the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal,” PCG said.
However, Beijing claimed that Manila’s ships had allegedly entered its waters.
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