China and the Philippines blame each other over collisions of vessels in the South China Sea (SCS)
Collision occurred near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, where China regularly deploys its vessels.
- Spratly Islands are a large group of reefs, shoals, and atolls in the SCS of the Pacific Ocean.
SCS is situated just south of the Chinese mainland and is bordered by the countries of Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
SCS dispute revolves around multiple claims to islands and reefs and associated territorial waters.
Reasons for SCS Dispute:
- Strategic Location: Connecting Asia with Europe and Africa (Approx. 21% of global trade transited through it)
- Natural Resource: Contains approximately 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in proven and probable reserves.
China’s imaginary “nine-dash line” claims as much as 90% of the SCS (refer Image).
- Philippines earlier initiated arbitral proceedings against China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration which ruled “nine-dash line” were inconsistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
- But China rejected the arbitral tribunal ruling.