Philippines accuse China of illegal maneuvers in the South China Sea Trump cannot be excluded from primaries

Another incident has occurred between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. Chinese ships tried to block a Philippine supply mission on Tuesday, according to the Philippine Coast Guard. This was en route to deliver supplies to soldiers near the Second Thomas Shoal. This is a reef about 200 kilometers west of the Philippine island of Palawan in the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.

The soldiers are waiting for a rotten warship, the “BRP Sierra Madre”, which ran aground there in 1999 and has since marked the Philippines’ claim to this area. A coast guard vessel suffered “minor structural damage” during the operation, Jay Tarriela, a spokesperson for the Philippine Coast Guard, wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

The task force responsible for the region (NTF-WPS) announced that another supply ship was also attacked with water cannons. At least four crew members were slightly injured. The National Security Council of the Southeast Asian island nation spoke of dangerous and illegal maneuvers.

There have been repeated incidents between the two countries in the disputed region. There has been a decades-long dispute between Beijing and Manila over the resource-rich area of ​​widespread reefs and islands west of the Philippines and far south of China. The state’s patrolling coast guards regularly perform dangerous maneuvers there. China claims virtually the entire South China Sea as its own. But the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also claim territory there. (rbu/sda/dpa)