Beijing and Manila trade blame over ‘provocative’ moves with ship collisions near disputed shoal

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Beijing and Manila have accused each other of carrying out “provocative” actions related to ship collisions near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea as tensions remain high between the two Asian neighbours in the strategic waterway. The Philippine National Security Council accused the Chinese side of causing a collision on October 22, 2023, but China’s coastguard said responsibility “lies entirely with the Philippine side”. Beijing said the “minor collision” happened at about 6.14am between a Chinese coastguard vessel and a Philippine resupply boat, and was followed two hours by another collision when a Philippine Coast Guard vessel “deliberately stirred up trouble” by running into a Chinese fishing boat.