China has lodged a formal protest with the Philippines, accusing it of initiating an attack on its coastguards following the latest clash between the two sides in the South China Sea.
Monday’s clash near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal involved a Chinese coastguard vessel and two Philippine Navy rubber dinghies.
The China Coast Guard said the Philippines had “illegally” launched the dinghies from the BRP Sierra Madre – an old warship that was intentionally grounded on the shoal in 1999 – then approached the Chinese vessel “in a dangerous manner” and rammed it from the front.
It accused the Philippine servicemen of “using tools such as oars and long sticks to maliciously attack Chinese law enforcement officers”.
The day after the incident, Beijing summoned Philippine ambassador Jaime FlorCruz and said Chinese law enforcement activities in the area were “reasonable and lawful”.
“The Philippine side initiated the provocation, yet they have turned around to falsely accuse China, distorting the facts and maliciously hyping up the incident,” the Chinese foreign ministry said.
The Philippines said it had launched the dinghies after the Chinese coastguards “unlawfully” approached the Sierra Madre, adding that they had injured one of the Philippine servicemen by hitting him on the head with a wooden baton.