China coast guard says Philippine ships’ presence at Sabina Shoal violated China’s sovereignty

July 3, 2024 - 9:03 AM
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Philippine Coast Guard personnel survey several ships believed to be Chinese militia vessels in Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea, in a handout photo distributed by the Philippine Coast Guard on May 5 and taken according to source on April 27, 2021. (Philippine Coast Guard/Handout via Reuters)

The China Coast Guard said the Philippines on Monday dispatched three vessels to resupply a Philippine coast guard vessel (9701) “illegally” stranded on a reef in the South China Sea that Beijing claimed as part of its territory.

In a statement on Tuesday, the China Coast Guard said it had followed and monitored the supply mission to Sabina Shoal, and that the vessels’ presence at the reef had “violated” China’s territory sovereignty and “undermined” peace and stability in the South China Sea.

—Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman