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South China Sea
ChinaDiplomacy

China lodges protest with Philippines after latest clash near Second Thomas Shoal

Beijing summons the Philippine ambassador to complain about what it describes as a ‘malicious’ attack on its coastguards

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China and the Philippines trade accusations over South China Sea clash
Fan Chen
China has lodged a formal protest with the Philippines, accusing it of initiating an attack on its coastguards following the latest clash between the two sides in the South China Sea.

Monday’s clash near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal involved a Chinese coastguard vessel and two Philippine Navy rubber dinghies.

The China Coast Guard said the Philippines had “illegally” launched the dinghies from the BRP Sierra Madre – an old warship that was intentionally grounded on the shoal in 1999 – then approached the Chinese vessel “in a dangerous manner” and rammed it from the front.

It accused the Philippine servicemen of “using tools such as oars and long sticks to maliciously attack Chinese law enforcement officers”.

The day after the incident, Beijing summoned Philippine ambassador Jaime FlorCruz and said Chinese law enforcement activities in the area were “reasonable and lawful”.

“The Philippine side initiated the provocation, yet they have turned around to falsely accuse China, distorting the facts and maliciously hyping up the incident,” the Chinese foreign ministry said.

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