The Chinese Coast Guard has taken control measures against Philippine ships entering the disputed waters of the Nansha (Spratly) Islands in the South China Sea, Liu Dejun, spokesman for the Chinese Maritime Police Department said.
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According to a statement by Liu Dejun published by the department on the WeChat social network, on Friday, two Philippine vessels entered the waters near the Texian Reef of the Nansha Islands without the permission of Chinese authorities and tried to illegally collect sediment samples.
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“Chinese coast guard ships blocked the Philippine vessels, monitored, issued warnings and dislodged (the vessels) in accordance with the law,” the statement said.
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It is noted that the China Coast Guard will continue to carry out human rights and law enforcement activities in waters under China’s jurisdiction, and resolutely protect the country’s territorial sovereignty, as well as its maritime rights and interests.
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Recently, in the disputed areas in the South China Sea, which are claimed simultaneously by China and the Philippines, there have been repeated incidents with ships of the two sides, including serious ones, during which Chinese coast guard ships used water cannons to drive away Philippine coast guard ships beyond the disputed area.
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The PRC has been arguing for decades with several countries in the Asia-Pacific region over the territorial ownership of a number of islands in the South China Sea, on the shelf of which significant hydrocarbon reserves have been discovered. We are talking about the Xisha archipelago (Paracel Islands), Nansha (Spratly) and Huangyan islands. Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and other states in the region are involved in these disputes to one degree or another.
