Two Chinese vessels spotted
Published on: Thursday, May 16, 2019
MANILA: Members of the Philippine and US Coast Guard spotted 2 Chinese vessels during a capability training exercise in a disputed area of the West Philippine Sea.
The PCG said 2 Chinese Coast Guard vessels were spotted near Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal during the training exercise of the USCG Cutter Bertholf and the BRP Batangas and BRP Kalanggaman.
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The PCG and USCG conducted a rescue simulation and communication exercise as part of the capability training.
Scarborough, called by Filipinos as Panatag Shoal and by the Chinese as Huangyan Island, was the site of a 2012 standoff between the Philippines and China.
The standoff erupted when Manila sent its biggest warship to chase off Chinese poachers.
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The Philippine government earlier said it will take “legal action” over China’s extraction of clams off Scarborough Shoal, which lies within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
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Filipino fishermen recently said that Chinese Coast Guard ships drove them away from the shoal as wooden ships that bore China’s flag harvested giant clams.