A Chinese coastguard ship came dangerously close to a Philippine patrol ship in the South China Sea, sparking fears of a territorial dispute in the contested waters.
The Chinese ship manoeuvred and came within 4 metres of the patrol ship near the Second Thomas Shoal. One other Philippine coastguard vessel was blocked and surrounded by the Chinese coastguard and militia ships.
The altercation had dragged on for about eight hours on Wednesday after China formed a blockade in the high seas off the shoal that both nations have laid claim to.
Two supply boats being escorted by the Philippine coastguard had breached the Chinese blockade and delivered food and other supplies to a Filipino marine outpost at the shoal.
There are by now about a dozen stories, from assorted high profile press outlets, all stemming from the same incident involving Fillipino coastguard vessels on which international reporters had been invited. The Philippines have played the PR game exceptionally and uncharacteristically well. Maybe the US has helped by providing advice (just speculating).
It’s hard to predict whether this will have a deterrent effect on Chinese actions, though.