The Guardian-China and the Philippines trade blame over two South China Sea collisions
October 22, 2023 4 min 696 words
这篇报道揭示了南海地区一次新的紧张事件，中国和菲律宾再次在南海的碰撞事件中互相指责。这一事件发生在斯普拉特利群岛附近，这个地区一直是中国主张的领土，但菲律宾也有存在。中国称这次碰撞是因为菲律宾补给船无视警告，并以不专业和危险的方式通过执法，而菲律宾则指责中国的“危险阻挠动作”导致了碰撞。 这种事件突显了南海的紧张局势，中国试图通过军事手段加强对南海的主张，这可能导致误判和冲突的升级。虽然没有人员伤亡，但菲律宾指责中国的行动危及了补给船员的安全。此外，中国无视国际裁决，坚持其对南海几乎整个领土的主张，这加剧了地区的紧张局势。 这一事件再次突显了南海争端的复杂性和紧张局势，需要国际社会继续关注和努力通过外交途径解决争端，以维护地区的和平与稳定。这也强调了美国与菲律宾的共同防御协议，提供了保护菲律宾的安全，但也可能进一步加剧中美之间的紧张关系。在这个充满挑战的地区，稳定和外交解决是最重要的。
Beijing and Manila have traded blame for two separate collisions on Sunday between Chinese vessels and Philippine boats on a resupply mission to Filipino troops on a remote outpost in the disputed South China Sea.
The incidents occurred near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands – a hotly contested region where Beijing deploys ships to assert its claims over almost the entire sea.
The Philippines accused China’s coast guard of colliding with a supply boat, saying the “dangerous blocking manoeuvres of China Coast Guard vessel 5203 caused it to collide with the Armed Forces of the Philippines-contracted indigenous resupply boat” about 25km from Second Thomas Shoal.
China said the “slight collision” happened after the resupply boat ignored “multiple warnings and deliberately passed through law enforcement in an unprofessional and dangerous manner”, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing the foreign ministry.
In another incident, a Philippine coastguard vessel escorting a routine resupply mission was “bumped” by what the Philippine taskforce described as a “Chinese Maritime Militia vessel”.
China, however, accused the Philippine boat of “deliberately” stirring up trouble by reversing in a “premeditated manner” into a Chinese fishing vessel.
Video released by the Philippine military showed the bow of the Chinese coastguard ship and the stern of the smaller resupply vessel briefly touching.
No one on either Philippine vessel was injured, but the supply boat involved in the collision was damaged, according to the Philippine coast guard.
A Philippine government taskforce said the “provocative, irresponsible, and illegal action” of the Chinese coast guard boat had endangered the safety of the crew on the supply boat.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, and has ignored an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
Second Thomas Shoal is about 200km from the western Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 1,000km from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan island.
China said “responsibility lies entirely with the Philippines” for Sunday’s incidents.
As China moves ever more confidently to assert its claims to sovereignty over the waters, officials and experts have warned of the potential for collisions.
“This is exactly the kind of event that can happen given their dangerous manoeuvring,” said Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines’ Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea.
Batongbacal said the Chinese coastguard had deliberately hit the Philippine resupply vessel to see how Manila would respond and test the resolve of the Philippines’ longtime ally Washington.
“You don’t accidentally hit another vessel out in the open ocean,” Batongbacal told AFP.
The Philippine supply boat was travelling to the second world war-era warship – the Sierra Madre – which was deliberately grounded by the Philippine navy in 1999 to check China’s advance in the waters. The troops stationed on the crumbling ship depend on regular supply deliveries for their survival.
The Philippines has outposts on nine reefs and islands in the Spratlys, including Second Thomas Shoal.
US ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson said in a post on X that the United States condemned China’s “latest disruption of a legal Philippine resupply mission” that put “the lives of Filipino service members at risk”.
Manila and Beijing have a long history of maritime disputes in the South China Sea.
Tensions flared in August when Chinese coast guard vessels used water cannon against a Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal, preventing one of the boats from delivering its cargo.
As it did after the August incident, the US state department on Sunday reiterated its mutual defence pact with the Philippines “extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, and aircraft – including those of its Coast Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea”.