As China continues to dominate the South China Sea, hostile behavior occurred near the Second Thomas Shoal.
The South China Sea is one of the most contentious bodies of water in the world, and its seafloor is estimated to contain 11 billion barrels of undiscovered oil.
South-China Sea Dispute
The resource-rich waterway has been the scene of numerous confrontations, but the most recent episode has been deemed very violent by Philippine authorities.
In the early morning hours of Monday, February 13, the Chinese vessel came within 449 feet of the Philippine crew in an attempt to prevent the patrol vessel from approaching the shoal.
The BRP Sierra Madre was stranded near the reef, and the coast guard was bringing crew and food to it. Nonetheless, photographs capture the moment when the Chinese ship crossed its route from a distance.
The lit laser beam is then observed immediately striking the ship’s bridge. According to a spokesperson for the coast guard, the light rendered the crew temporarily blind. It was the first negative occurrence that Commodore Armand Balilo, a member of the Philippine coastguard, had seen.
The purposeful obstruction of Philippine government ships attempting to supply food and supplies to our military soldiers aboard the BRP Sierra Madre is a flagrant disregard for and infringement of Philippine sovereign rights in this portion of the West Philippine Sea.
Philippine Ship Was Forced To Leave The Area
It is unknown whether the food and sailors reached the naval sentry ship. Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, stated that the coast guard vessel illegally entered Chinese waters.
He stated, “As a result, the Chinese coast guard vessels behaved properly and with restraint in accordance with Chinese law and international law at the scene.”
“We hope that the Philippines will respect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea and refrain from taking any acts that could escalate the conflict and complicate the situation.”
In this sense, China and the Philippines continue to communicate through diplomatic channels. This is not the first time the Chinese coast guard has prevented Philippine ships from escorting supply ships to Second Thomas Shoal.
In August of 2022, two Chinese warships accompanied by two Chinese civilian vessels uncovered their 70mm cannons and directed them at a Philippine crew.
The Philippine government has labeled it a flagrant infringement of Manila’s sovereign rights. Since February 6, the Philippine military has occupied the underwater reef to defend their claim to the contested waters.
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China Asserts Ownership Of South China Sea
Under Beijing’s arbitrary Nine Dash Line, which reaches around 1242 miles from its mainland, it has staked claim to 90 percent of the sea as sovereign territory.
This is despite the fact that an international arbitration court rejected its claims in 2016.
Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines are among the other nations pursuing territorial claims to the sea based on UN agreements.
However, tensions in the Western Pacific Ocean have increased as the Philippines and the United States strengthen their relationship.
The United States lays no claims to the disputed sea but has dispatched Marines to police the waterways. The presence of the United States in the sea has infuriated Beijing, which has cautioned the United States to quit interfering in what it calls a purely Asian dispute.
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