Over collisions in the South China Sea, the Philippines summons the Chinese ambassador

In response to two incidents between Philippine and Chinese ships in the contentious South China Sea, Manila summoned Beijing’s ambassador on Monday, a foreign ministry official said. “We are use all diplomatic procedures at our disposal. That includes calling the Chinese ambassador, which we did this morning, said Teresita Daza, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry.

The Spratly Islands’ occurrences on Sunday at Second Thomas Shoal have drawn accusations from both China and the Philippines. The two crashes took place during a normal Philippine supply trip to Filipino soldiers stationed aboard a dilapidated military ship moored on the shoal to support Manila’s territorial claims.

An indigenous resupply boat hired by the Armed Forces of the Philippines collided with the China Coast Guard vessel 5203 around 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the shoal, according to a task force of the Philippine government.

The resupply boat disregarded “multiple warnings and deliberately passed through law enforcement in an unprofessional and dangerous manner,” according to China, which claimed the “slight collision” occurred, state broadcaster CCTV said on Sunday, citing the foreign ministry.

In a separate incident, what the Philippine task force claimed as a “Chinese Maritime Militia vessel” “bumped” a Philippine coastguard vessel that was accompanying the usual resupply trip. China, on the other hand, claimed that the Philippine boat purposefully caused difficulty by reversing into a Chinese fishing boat in a “premeditated manner.”