BEIJING, July 23 (Reuters) – China said on Thursday it tracked and drove away two Philippine vessels it accused of having “intruded into” waters near the disputed Scarborough Shoal despite warnings, the week’s second incident in the South China Sea to involve both nations.
A flashpoint that is one of Asia’s most contested maritime sites, Scarborough Shoal is claimed by both the Philippines and China, which calls it “Huangyan Dao”.
“We urge the Philippines to immediately cease its infringing and provocative actions,” China’s Coast Guard said in a statement, while reaffirming sovereignty over the disputed shoal.
The Coast Guard took necessary measures, such as tracking, monitoring, and interception to drive away the Philippine vessels, it added, calling the actions “standard, professional and lawful.”
The Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The remarks came after protests by both sides this week following a clash between Beijing and Manila in the Second Thomas Shoal, another feature in the busy waterway of South China Sea.
On the sidelines of a meeting of regional grouping ASEAN on Wednesday, the foreign ministers of both nations exchanged protests over the prior South China Sea encounter.
China’s Wang Yi warned Manila of “bitter consequences of its own making” if it sought to provoke Beijing with the support of outside powers.
(Reporting by Liz Lee and Shi Bu; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Clarence Fernandez)
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