South China Sea: Chinese ship, Philippine supply ship collide near Spratly Islands

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese ship and a Philippine supply ship collided Monday near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, the Chinese coast guard said.

The coast guard said a Philippine supply ship entered waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands that is part of territory claimed by several countries.

China's coast guard said in a statement posted on social media platform WeChat that the Philippine supply ship “ignored China's repeated solemn warnings… and came dangerously close to a Chinese ship under normal navigation, in an unprofessional manner, resulting in a collision.”

“The Philippines is entirely responsible for this,” he adds.

No comment from the Philippine government was immediately available.

The Philippines says the shoal, which lies less than 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from its coast, is part of its internationally recognized exclusive economic zone and often cites a International arbitration 2016 decision that invalidates China's vast claims in the South China Sea on historical grounds.

Several incidents have occurred in recent months near the shoal, where the Philippines maintains a station aboard the BRP ship Sierra Madre.

Territorial disputes have strained relations and raised fears that the conflict could draw China and the United States, long-time allies of the Philippines, into a military confrontation. Washington makes no territorial claims to the busy shipping lane, a key global trade route, but has warned that he is obliged to defend the Philippines if Philippine forces, ships and aircraft come under armed attack in the South China Sea.

Besides China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are also embroiled in long-running territorial disputes, seen as a flashpoint in Asia and a delicate fault line in the long-standing rivalry between the United States. United and China in the region.