The Philippines government has accused a “Chinese maritime militia” vessel of deliberately sideswiping one of its fisheries vessels in the contested South China Sea.
The government claims a Chinese vessel with the bow number 00108 conducted dangerous maneuvers to block the path of a Philippines Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel, ultimately leading to the collision.
“These dangerous maneuvers caused the sideswiping and collision with the BFAR vessel, which sustained minor dents in its starboard bow,” the Philippines government said in a statement.
The Filipino vessel was able to continue its mission after the incident and was able to dock safely at the Pag-asa Sheltered Port on Pag-asa Island in the South China Sea.
The Filipino government alleges another incident occurred 8 October, when three Chinese coast guard vessels and a navy vessel approached two BFAR vessels on a resupply mission in the South China Sea. BFAR claims the Chinese vessels conducted dangerous maneuvers to impede the mission and fired water cannons at the Philippines vessels, though the cannons did not reach their targets.
“Not withstanding the dangerous maneuvers and opening of water cannons, both BFAR vessels were able to resupply the Filipino fisherfolk in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc,” the Philippines government said in a statement. “The two [vessels] resupplied a total of seven Filipino mother boats and 16 small fishing boats who continue to fish in our waters.”
The bureau said it would not be ...
