China, Philippines clash in South China Sea despite efforts to rebuild trust

MANILA/BEIJING: The Philippines and China clashed in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Sunday over what Manila said was a resupply mission for fishermen, the latest in a series of sea and air confrontations in the strategic waterway.

The incident overshadows efforts by both nations to rebuild trust and better manage disputes after months of confrontations, including a violent clash in June, in which a Filipino sailor lost a finger.

The Philippines on Sunday accused China of “aggressive and dangerous manoeuvres” to block the resupply mission. China’s coast guard, meanwhile, said it had taken “control measures” against a vessel that had “illegally” entered the waters and repeatedly approached Chinese ships in a dangerous manner.

In the incident near the Sabina Shoal, the Philippine South China Sea task force said Chinese vessels rammed and used water cannons against a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries ship transporting food, fuel and medical supplies for Filipino fishermen.

For its part, the Chinese coast guard said the Philippine ship “ignored repeated serious warnings and deliberately approached and rammed” China’s law enforcement boat, resulting in a collision. It added that responsibility for the collision lies entirely on the Philippine side.

China asserts sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea, including areas claimed by the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Brunei. Beijing has deployed an armada of vessels to protect its claims.

An international arbitral tribunal in 2016 ruled that Beijing’s claim had no basis under international law, a landmark victory for the Philippines, which filed the case. Beijing rejects that decision.

The Philippines and China agreed to “restore trust” and “rebuild confidence” to manage maritime disputes in a high-level meeting last month. That was followed by a provisional arrangement about Manila’s resupply missions to a beached Filipino naval ship in the South China Sea.

“These unprofessional, aggressive and illegal actions posed serious risks to the safety of the Filipino crew and the fishermen they were meant to serve,” the Philippine task force said of Sunday’s confrontation.

It said the Bureau of Fisheries vessel, operating from Half-Moon Shoal to Sabina Shoal, encountered multiple Chinese vessels that deployed “perilous manoeuvres”, causing its engine to fail and forcing it to end the resupply mission.

Manila repeated its call for Beijing to halt “provocative actions that destabilise regional peace and security”.

Treaty ally the United States reiterated on Sunday its support for the Philippines.

“Unsafe, unlawful and aggressive conduct by the PRC (People’s Republic of China) disrupted a legal Philippine mission, endangering lives,” US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson said on social media platform X.