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Officials in Manila have demanded an explanation from Beijing after a Philippine military commander reported that the Chinese Coast Guard forcibly confiscated rocket fragments belonging to Philippine naval personnel in the disputed South China Sea.
Sunday’s incident near the Philippine-occupied Thitu Island was the latest escalation in a territorial dispute involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
China denies its coast guard forcibly confiscated the wreckage of the Chinese rocket belonging to the Filipino crew.
Maria Theresa Daza, spokeswoman for Manila’s foreign ministry, said a diplomatic note had been forwarded to China asking “the Chinese side to provide clarification on this incident.”
The head of the military’s Western Command, Vice Adm. Alberto Carlos, said Filipino sailors used long-range cameras to spot debris floating in heavy waves near a sandbar about 800 yards offshore. They set out by boat, salvaged the flotsam and began towing it back to Thitu Island.
Vice Admiral Carlos said in a statement that when they returned to the island, “they noticed a Chinese Coast Guard vessel with prow number 5203 approaching their position and then twice blocked their pre-planned route. “.
The Chinese coast guard ship then deployed a rubber boat and “cut the towline to forcibly recover the above-mentioned floating objects” on the Filipino sailor’s rubber boat.
Vice Admiral Carlos said the sailors decided to return to their islands, without elaborating on what happened.
Chinese coast guard ships have intercepted Philippine supply ships delivering supplies to the Philippine military in disputed waters in the past, but seizing items in the possession of another country’s military constitutes an even more brazen act.
China’s foreign ministry in Beijing denied that the debris had been forcibly seized.
Spokesman Mao Ning said: “The Philippine side salvaged and dragged away the object first. After friendly negotiations on the spot, the Philippine side returned the item to the Chinese side, and China appreciates it.
“There was no interception or forcible seizure at the scene.”
Responding to China’s denials, the top Philippine defense official, Jose Faustino Jr, backed Philippine naval personnel’s claim that the debris had been “rudely” taken from them by the Chinese Coast Guard.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he would seek clarification when he visits Beijing in January to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
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