China maritime forces harass Philippine scientists anewA China Coast Guard inflatable boat collides with a PCG boat, which tried to stop the Chinese from interfering with UP scientists diving at Escoda Shoal during a coral health survey last Tuesday. “If China continues to prevent our research work, the damage and the decline and the slow recovery of corals can be due to China,” Anticamara said. Last May 19, a Philippine Navy speedboat carrying a sick soldier from the BRP Sierra Madre had to make evasive maneuver as Chinese vessels apparently were attempting to stop the medical evacuation. China considers almost the entire South China Sea its territory, but the claim has been invalidated by an arbitral court ruling inn 2016. The Chinese vessels include a training ship with bow number 83 and an amphibious transport dock with bow number 999.

Source: Philippine Star June 09, 2024 00:15 UTC