The rising conflict in the South China Sea increased considerably as Philippine Coast Guard and Chinese Coast Guard engaged in a standoff. The Philippines is adamant in accusing China of blocking and water-cannoning their military supply.
These recent developments mark another effort by China to control the territories of the South China Sea. The Philippines is against the “excessive and offensive actions” of China and its vessels .In return, China has maintained it’s stand that it took the necessary action to deter Philippine ships which were trespassing and carrying illegal building materials. The report has mentioned that the incident took place close to the location of Second Thomas Shoal, which is famously know as Ayungin Shoal by Manila. The area is a submerged reef where a small number of its troops reside on an old US ship from World War Two that was deliberately grounded in 1999. “We call on the China Coast Guard and the Central Military Commission to act with prudence and be responsible in their actions to prevent miscalculations and accidents that will endanger people’s lives,” the Philippines armed forces stated. “We urge the Philippine side to immediately stop its infringing activities in these waters,” China Coast Guard spokesman, Gan Yu responded amidst the conflict.
The other bordering countries in the region like Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, and the Philippines also reject China’s claim over the areas of the South China Sea. The countries have time and again warned China against any maritime actions in the disputed areas like building islands on reefs. The dispute even went up to the International Court of Arbitration in Hague, 2016 but China had continued to deny the claims.