The ships collision that occurred between Chinese ships and the Philippines caused conflict. The ships collision conflict occurred in the South China Sea. Manila decided to summon the Beijing Ambassador on October 23, 2023. There was a record that recorded the moments of collisions, and now the video has gone viral on international news. The heat conflict between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea has been going on since a few decades ago.
South China Sea Conflict
The BBC reported that the conflict between the two countries was getting hotter after a collision on their ship. Even quarrels related to the South China Sea occurred again a few weeks ago. A Filipino journalist shows the recording results. Records show that there was a crash in the second Thomas Shoal area. The Second Thomas Shoal area is famous as a sensitive area or vulnerable to disputes between the two countries.
The Philippine government is also very concerned about the incident. They assume that Chinese actions are a brutal because they try to control the territory of the waters that belong to the Philippines. Responding to Chinese actions, the Philippine government decided to spread videos to the media, especially local. However, the news of the clash was in the spotlight this time. Countries like America support the Philippines. The zone that is the area of the dispute is in the gray category, according to the Philippine government. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. conveyed an emergency to the military in his country. These parties conducted discussions to follow up on what China had done in the waters of the Philippines.
President Marcos carried out a very different policy from the previous president, Rodrigo Duterte. He was also very condemning of China’s actions in Manila’s exclusive economic zone. The economic zone is 200 nautical miles. Nevertheless, the ships used to stand guard in the second Thomas Shoal area. The ship there was rusty. The Philippines continues to try to make the old ship survive without sinking. The country is very trying to maintain its waters in Beting Ayungin.
Responding to the Philippines, China also did not want to lose. China had explicitly explained that his country would make Sierra Madre unable to survive. Many parties are very concerned about the conflict. Reporting from the U.S. website of the Department of State, the country strongly supports the Philippines and considers Chinese actions is dangerous in the South China Sea.