China and the Philippines traded accusations over a collision in disputed waters of the South China Sea as Chinese vessels blocked Philippine boats supplying forces there on Sunday in the latest of a series of maritime confrontations. - REUTERS
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00:00 China and the Philippines are trading blame over a Sunday collision in the South China
00:06 Sea, shown here in video released by the Philippines Armed Forces.
00:11 It appears to show a Chinese vessel grazing the hull of a Philippines boat on a resupply
00:15 mission.
00:16 The run-in is the most recent in a series of maritime confrontations between the two
00:20 countries in the last few months, which have been concentrated near the contested Spratly
00:25 Islands.
00:26 The Philippines says its boat was on its way to resupply the BRP Sierra Madre, a World
00:31 War II-era U.S.-built warship grounded over two decades ago on the disputed Second Thomas
00:37 Shoal and now used as a base for Philippines Marines.
00:41 The Philippines National Security Council condemned the collision on Monday.
00:45 "Continued Chinese blocking and interference by Chinese vessels with our regular and routine
00:53 rotation and resupply missions to BRP Sierra Madre may lead to disastrous results.
01:02 While no lives were lost in the collisions yesterday, China's provocative and irresponsible
01:09 actions have clearly impeded once again the safety of the Filipino crew."
01:15 China's Coast Guard released their own footage of the incident a day later.
01:19 They maintained they were "lawfully blocking" the Philippine boat from transporting "illegal
01:24 construction materials" to a disputed atoll, and said the boat ignored repeated warnings
01:29 and had "deliberately provoked trouble" in crossing the bow of the Chinese ship causing
01:34 the collision.
01:36 China's foreign ministry added they have shown "great restraint and patience" on the issue,
01:41 and would continue to take the necessary lawful measures to safeguard China's territorial
01:45 sovereignty.
01:46 The U.S. State Department has sided with the Philippines, saying China's actions amounted
01:51 to repeated "harassment" in the South China Sea.
01:54 Beijing lays claim to most of the area, including parts of the exclusive economic zones of the
01:59 Philippines and other countries.
02:02 The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in 2016 that Beijing's claims had no legal basis.
02:08 Manila's relations with Beijing have soured under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has
02:12 strengthened military engagement with Washington since taking office last year.
02:17 The Pentagon said in May it would protect the Philippines if its Coast Guard came under
02:22 attack "anywhere in the South China Sea."
02:25 [BLANK_AUDIO]