Grapevine

By Al Jazeera
Aug 26, 2024

Philippines, China accuse each other of ship ramming in South China Sea

Beijing claims Philippine vessel ‘deliberately’ collided with its ship, but Manila slams claims as ‘unfounded’.

China’s coastguard says it has rescued Filipino “personnel” who fell overboard after a Philippine vessel collided with one of its ships near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

The Philippines on Sunday, however, slammed China’s claims as “completely unfounded”, saying it was a Chinese vessel that had rammed a Philippine ship.

The two nations have had repeated confrontations in the waters in recent months, and on Saturday Manila accused China of recently twice firing flares at one of its patrol aircraft.

China has continued to press its claims to almost the entire South China Sea and has ignored an international tribunal ruling that its assertions have no legal basis.