Philippines says China made dangerous sea moves, used chopper

Journalists report as a Chinese coast guard ship tries to block the path of Philippine coast guard BRP Sindangan while they tried to enter the Second Thomas Shoal on March 5, 2024. - AP

MANILA: The Philippines said China made dangerous moves and deployed a chopper during Manila’s research mission to South China Sea, the latest flare-up in lingering tensions between the two nations over disputed waters.

A China Coast Guard ship tried to prevent a Philippine fisheries bureau vessel from reaching Manila-administered Thitu Island to check the status of marine life, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela told a group of journalists who joined this week’s maritime mission.

China also deployed militia ships in the area as seen from Thitu by journalists including from Bloomberg News.

China’s coast guard said Filipinos on the ships ignored China’s warnings and its officers boarded Sandy Cay on Thursday (March 21) to investigate and dealt with the situation in accordance with law, according to its WeChat account.

The incident marks a new front in maritime encounters between Beijing and Manila as the two nations assert their overlapping South China Sea claims. The Philippines deployed its vessels off Thitu on Thursday to study for the first time corals, fish and other marine resources in the vicinity of Sandy Cay, where several Chinese ships had earlier been spotted.

Tensions between China and the Philippines have been escalating for months as Manila pushes back against a growing number of incursions around key features that both nations claim as their own.

Since coming to power in June 2022, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has taken a more assertive posture to the dispute compared to his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, while also leveraging close ties with the US in an effort to build a deterrence.

Marcos told Bloomberg News on Tuesday that the threat to his nation from China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea is growing and that the Philippines "must do more to defend our territory.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on a visit to Manila this week, criticised China’s "provocative actions” in the contested waters as he reaffirmed the US security commitment to the Philippines.- Bloomberg