Palki Sharma reports on the collision and ongoing contention in the South China Sea
There has been an actual ship-to-ship collision in the disputed waters near Second Thomas Shoal (part of the Spratly Islands chain) in the South China Sea. The Philippine government has blamed the incident on aggressive behavior by Chinese ships.
The US Naval Institute reports:
The incident occurred at 6:04 a.m., according to the statement, which blamed China Coast Guard Vessel 5203’s blocking maneuvers for a collision with the Armed Forces of the Philippines-contracted resupply boat Unaiza May 2 at approximately 13.5 nautical miles east-northeast of the Sierra Madre.
Dzirhan Mahadzir, “China Coast Guard Vessel Collides with Filipino Supply Ship in South China Sea”. USNI News
Palki Sharma reports on this event and gives a short history of Chinese aggression in the South China Sea:
Posturing over territory using naval vessels is a constant tactic used by the Chinese. Attempts to blockade disputed islands or to drive dangerously close to other vessels are common. Previously noted on StopTheChinazis.org:
One of things that the government of China likes to do in the South China Sea, which it regards as its backyard lake, is almost-ram the vessels of other countries that claim rights to various parts of this sea—like the parts close to their country
Scribbler, “Philippine Vessel in David-and-Goliath Near Crash”, StopTheChinazis.org
And when countries complain about this behavior, China accuses them of “stirring up trouble”. The contention over Second Thomas Shoal is just one of many conflicts the Chinese are engaged in around the South China Sea. The Philippine government recently destroyed a barrier erected by the Chinese Coast Guard to block Philippine fishermen.
This comes after years of controversy between China and the Philippines as China has laid claim to almost the entire South China Sea, where much of the territory is closer physically to other countries, falling within their Exclusive Economic Zones. And economic zones take precedence over China’s “nine-dash-line” claims, according to a decision by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. See the Geneva Graduate Institute’s publication, “Legal Victory for the Philippines against China.”
