Advertisement
South China Sea: Philippine troops accused of cutting Chinese fishing nets near Second Thomas Shoal
- State media report claims military personnel stationed on grounded warship damaged and removed nets placed by Chinese
- There have been frequent run-ins between China’s coastguard and Philippine vessels near the contested reef in the past year
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
54
Philippine troops have been damaging and removing Chinese fishing nets in waters near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, according to state media.
Official news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday that military personnel stationed at Second Thomas Shoal on the BRP Sierra Madre had cut nets placed by Chinese fishermen in the surrounding waters.
Tensions have been rising near the Sierra Madre, a rusting World War II-era ship the Philippines deliberately grounded on the shoal in 1999 to strengthen its sovereignty claim.
Advertisement
Video footage accompanying the report shows Philippine troops in rubber boats cutting nets and pulling some of them aboard their vessels near Second Thomas Shoal.
The Xinhua report alleged that Philippine military personnel had damaged more than 2,000 metres of fishing net and taken more than 100 metres since May 15. It said the Chinese coastguard had helped the fishermen to retrieve their damaged nets.
China claims most of the resource-rich South China Sea, but the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x