China claims almost the entire South China Sea, despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
The United States regularly carries out “freedom of navigation” operations in the South China Sea, challenging what it says are curbs on passage imposed by China and other claimants.
The Scarborough Shoal has been a major source of tension in the South China Sea, a conduit for more than US$3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce.
The actions of Chinese vessels in the shoal this week also resulted in a collision of two of them, Manila said, the first such known in the area.
China’s coast guard said it had taken “necessary measures” to expel Philippine vessels from the waters.
In 2016, an international arbitral tribunal ruled there was no basis in international law for Beijing’s claims, based on its historic maps. China does not recognise that decision, however.
Source: CNA
