Chinese vessels in high-seas chase of Philippine boat with media

The high seas pursuit near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands yesterday ended when Philippine Navy inflatable speed boats deployed from the crumbling BRP Sierra Madre and blocked the approaching Chinese vessels.Moments later, the Philippine Coast Guard craft carrying AFP and a local media outlet slipped into the shallow waters of the shoal.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea and has ignored an international ruling that its stance has no legal basis.It deploys steel-hulled ships and speed boats to patrol the waters and reefs in the sea, and has built artificial islands that it has militarised to reinforce its claims. Beijing, which has urged Manila to remove the ship, insists the Philippine vessels are infringing China’s territorial sovereignty.

The incident happened nearly three weeks after two collisions between Chinese and Philippine vessels during another resupply mission, with the countries trading blame.China’s actions have sparked international concern and fuelled fears for a potential accident or miscalculation serious enough to ignite a military conflict.

As the journalists sat in the rubber boat under a cloudy sky observing the dilapidated state of the BRP Sierra Madre yesterday, a US maritime patrol plane circled overhead.

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