The Philippines said it will never abandon its military outpost on the Ayungin Shoal, a disputed reef in the Spratly Island chain in the eastern part of the South China Sea within Manila’s exclusive economic zone, after eight Chinese ships fired water cannons for an hour at four smaller Philippine boats on a resupply mission over the weekend, according to a report by the Strait Times, which said Manila had filed another diplomatic complaint with the Chinese ambassador over the incident.
Chinese officials, who have rejected an international ruling against the country’s controversial ‘Nine-Dash-Line’ claim, told the Philippines on Monday to remove the grounded BRP Sierra Madre vessel from the reef, which is also known as the Second Thomas Shoal, adding that it had earlier told Manila not to send “construction materials used for large-scale repair and reinforcement” to the warship after it learned of this recent supply plan.
However, this was met with a flat rejection by Manila, while China’s tactics spurred an international backlash with allies such as the United States, Japan, Australia, Germany, Canada and the European Union condemning its actions, the Times said.
Read the full report (with videos): Straits Times.
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