Chinese ship runs aground off Philippines-occupied island in the disputed South China Sea

[Pelican Press 0]

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******** ship runs aground off Philippines-occupied island in the disputed South China Sea

PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines (AP) — A ******** ship ran aground in stormy weather in shallow waters off a Philippines-occupied island in the disputed South China Sea, prompting ********* forces to go on alert, Philippine military officials said Sunday.

When ********* forces assessed that the ******** fishing vessel appeared to have run aground in the shallows east of Thitu Island on Saturday because of bad weather, Philippine military and coast guard personnel deployed to provide help but later saw that the ship had been extricated, regional navy spokesperson Ellaine Rose Collado said.

No other details were immediately available, including if there were injuries among the crewmembers or if the ship was damaged, Collado said.

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have spiked between ******** and Philippine coast guard and navy ships in the disputed waters in recent years.

“The alertness of our troops is always there,” Col. Xerxes Trinidad of the Armed Forces of the Philippines told reporters. But when they saw that a probable accident had happened, “we tried to provide assistance as professionals” in accordance with international law on helping distressed vessels at sea.

“We’re always following international law,” Trinidad said.

********* villagers living in a fishing village on Thitu, which they call Pagasa island, immediately informed the Philippine military and coast guard after seeing the ******** ship lying in the shallows about 1.5 nautical miles (2.7 kilometers) from their village, said MP Albayda, a local ********* official, told The Associated Press.

“They got worried because the ******** were so close but it was really the strong wind and waves that caused the ship to run aground,” said Albayda, adding that other ******** ships pulled the stricken vessel away.

The stricken ship resembled what the Philippine military had repeatedly said were suspected ******** militia ships, which had backed the ******** coast guard and navy in blocking and harassing Philippine coast guard and military vessels in the disputed waters, a busy conduit for global trade and commerce.

Thitu Island is home to a Philippine fishing village and ********* forces and is the largest of nine islands and islets occupied by the Philippines. It lies about 26 kilometers (16 miles) from Subi Reef, which China transformed into an island base along with six other barren reefs to reinforce its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are also involved in the long-simmering territorial standoffs, an Asian flashpoint that many fear could pit China and the

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in a major conflict.

The U.S. does not lay any claim to the South China Sea but has repeatedly warned that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines, it’s longtime treaty ally, if ********* forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

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