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South China Sea
This Week in AsiaPolitics

Philippine civilian group slams China for ‘modern-day piracy’ in Second Thomas Shoal

  • China’s coastguard cannot get away with reported seizure of supplies for Filipino troops stationed aboard warship in Second Thomas Shoal, group says

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Filipino volunteers from the civilian-led relief mission Atin Ito (It’s Ours!) group distribute relief goods to fishermen aboard a motorised wooden boat on the waters of the disputed South China Sea, on May 16. Photo: EPA-EFE
SCMP’s Asia desk
A Philippine civil society group has accused Beijing of committing “modern-day piracy” in the disputed South China Sea and vowed to picket outside the Chinese embassy as maritime tensions between the two sides continue to flare.

Rafaela David, one of the leaders of Atin Ito (“It’s Ours”), said China’s coastguard cannot get away with the reported seizure of supplies for Filipino troops stationed aboard a rickety warship that serves as a military outpost in the Second Thomas Shoal.

David called on citizens to display their “unyielding spirit” at next Tuesday’s rally in front of the Chinese diplomatic mission in Manila to protest against the May 19 incident that also resulted in the alleged blockade of a medical evacuation of a sick soldier from the BRP Sierra Madre, which the Philippines grounded on the shoal in 1999 to assert its territorial claims.
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“They cannot do a ‘Made in China’ Jack Sparrow act in our backyard and expect no accountability,” she said on Wednesday, referring to the protagonist of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Philippine fishermen and volunteers from a civilian-led mission Atin Ito sail in the South China Sea on May 15 to distribute provisions to Filipino fishermen and assert their rights to the disputed waterway. Photo: AFP
Philippine fishermen and volunteers from a civilian-led mission Atin Ito sail in the South China Sea on May 15 to distribute provisions to Filipino fishermen and assert their rights to the disputed waterway. Photo: AFP

Philippine navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad said the Chinese coastguard personnel snatched a package airdropped by a military aircraft for the troops on the outcrop, suspecting it had construction materials to reinforce the crumbling vessel.

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He later released pictures that showed the parcel contained food rations that were dispersed in the sea.

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