Breaking: Ship Crash

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An ongoing game of chicken in the South China Sea keeps ending in a tie but Beijing is taking the heat for causing at least one crash. The Chinese Coast Guard has been acting offensively against their neighbors in the Philippines. Both countries claim the same island chains and rights to the waters around them. Tensions between the two nations have been escalating continuously for months. This string of incidents happened starting August 19, at Sabina Shoal, which happens to be “located in the oil-rich Spratly Islands.

China declared the aggressor

The first of two similar incidents in the South China Sea happened on Saturday. That’s when “several Chinese and Philippine vessels collided near the shoal in the disputed Spratly Islands – an area rich in oil and gas, which has been claimed by both countries for years.

The Chinese coast guard claims the Philippine vessel “deliberately collided” into them. The Philippines blame the Chinese for “aggressive maneuvers.

The next day, there was a “second round of collisions.” Once again, both sides blamed the other. Meanwhile, “several other countries including the UK, Japan, Australia and South Korea, as well as the EU” are diplomatically scolding China for what happened. It’s only the latest flashpoint in an “ongoing maritime dispute.

The big thing the two countries are fighting over is an outpost the Philippines established on Second Thomas Shoal. Possession of the island makes a huge difference in their dispute over ownership. The Chinese have been trying to starve them out by regularly disrupting their supply deliveries.

Though both “China and the Philippines have staked their claims on various islands and zones in the Sea,” their dispute has been “increasingly escalating over the years with more vessel collisions, scuffles, and allegations of armed threats.

This latest event brought things “to a head.” Manila put out a statement about it on Monday.

An ongoing game of chicken in the South China Sea keeps ending in a tie.

Another resupply mission

It seems that the Philippines have yet another remote island outpost that nobody has been talking about. What just happened in the Spratlys is “40 Chinese ships prevented two of their boats from conducting a ‘humanitarian mission‘ to restock the Teresa Magbuana, a Philippine coast guard ship deployed months earlier to the shoal.

Manila “suspects China is attempting to reclaim land at Sabina Shoal.” For evidence, they point to “a nearby underwater mound of crushed coral, which its coast guard filmed.” Chinese media says they’re lying.

On Second Thomas Shoal, the BRP Sierra Madre was intentionally run aground by the Philippines in 1999 to serve as shelter for a permanent crew to man the outpost and maintain their claim of ownership. The Teresa Magbuana is apparently only anchored in position.

Still, it was sent to Sabina in April “as part of a prolonged presence they plan to maintain at the shoal.” They want the oil and gas there. Meanwhile, the Chinese are also stealing natural gas from the Vietnamese, by drilling for it in contested waters.

China isn’t happy about the Teresa Magbuana being there because they also lay claim to the islands and the resources around them. They’re really mad because the trick they used with the Sierra Madre worked better than the Chinese expected. “25 years on, it is still there. Clearly, the Philippines is attempting to repeat this scenario.

They aren’t going to let that happen if there’s any way to stop it. “China has increasingly blasted powerful water cannon and lasers at Philippine ships, with the Filipinos also accusing the Chinese of boarding their boats, leading to scuffles, as well as confiscating items and puncturing their inflatable vessels.

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Mark Megahan

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