The Philippines has accused Chinese coastguard vessels of \u201cintentionally\u201d colliding with its vessels on a resupply mission in a disputed part of the South China Sea, saying Beijing is \u201cobfuscating the truth\u201d. On its part, China\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on Monday, warning Manila to refrain from using \u201cslanderous\u201d and \u201cprovocative\u201d declarations over the two maritime collision incidents involving Chinese and Philippine vessels over the weekend. The incidents took place on Sunday near Second Thomas Shoal, which lies within Manila\u2019s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), as the Philippines tried to resupply sailors on the Sierra Madre, a ship it grounded there in 1999. Both sides claim sovereignty over these parts of the South China Sea and the two countries frequently engage in maritime incidents involving coastguard, military and supply vessels. The Chinese vessels \u201charassed and intentionally hit\u201d the Philippine vessels which were \u201cconducting legitimate rotation and resupply operations within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines\u201d, Philippine Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro told reporters on Monday. Although no personnel were harmed in the incident, Jonathan Malaya, spokesperson at the Philippine National Security Council, said Manila was \u201cconcerned by the escalation and provocations by Chinese vessels, who have no business being in the West Philippine Sea\u201d. China\u2019s Foreign Ministry released a statement on Monday warning Manila to stop \u201cprovocations\u201d and take Chinese concerns seriously. \u201cStop dangerous maneuvers, stop creating more tensions in the region, stop groundlessly attacking and slandering China, and to tow away the illegally \u2018grounded\u2019 warship as soon as possible,\u201d deputy chief of mission Zhou Zhiyong said in an embassy statement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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