BEIJING, July 21 (Reuters) – Beijing said it summoned the Philippine ambassador to China on Tuesday over an encounter a day earlier between the two countries in the Second Thomas Shoal, according to a statement from its foreign ministry.
China and the Philippines traded accusations on Monday after an encounter between their vessels in contested South China Sea waters, with Manila saying one of its navy personnel was struck on the head and Beijing saying Manila provoked the incident.
“The Philippine side provoked the incident first, yet has turned around and made counter-accusations, distorted the facts and engaged in malicious hype,” the Chinese foreign ministry said.
The China Coast Guard (CCG) said on Monday two rubber boats sent by the Philippines’ grounded vessel BRP Sierra Madre rammed into a Chinese patrol boat in the South China Sea and the Philippine personnel initiated “malicious attacks” against Chinese law enforcement officers by using oars and long sticks.
China’s foreign ministry called the actions taken by the Philippines “egregious in nature.”
Manila previously accused Beijing of aggressively striking one of its navy staff on the head with a wooden baton during Monday’s encounter and said one navy rubber boat was damaged.
In a separate statement on Tuesday, the CCG said China permitted the Philippine side to transfer the injured personnel through small shuttle boats from the grounded Philippine warship “out of humanitarian consideration.”
“The CCG inquired and verified the Philippine boats, and monitored the whole process,” CCG spokesperson Jiang Lue said, adding China will continue to carry out “rights-protection and law-enforcement operations” in waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, the contested area.
The Philippines embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the CCG and Chinese foreign ministry statements.
The Philippine military on Tuesday called China’s claims “false and misleading”, saying its personnel did not initiate any confrontation.
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Additional reporting by Karen Lema in Manila; Editing by Tom Hogue)
