How a rusted-out naval vessel continues to inflame China – Philippines tensions

China on Tuesday repeated its call for The Philippines to remove a grounded warship from a disputed shoal, after Manila strongly stressed it would not abandon the area.

Chinese and Philippine vessels had another tense encounter on August 5 in the disputed body of water, with Manila accusing its neighbour of using water cannons.

The Philippines also raised concerns over China blocking a resupply mission to soldiers manning the stranded and rusty World War II relic used as a base.

Beijing, however, called its actions justified as the Philippines was potentially transporting construction materials to the vessel.

According to Manila, the naval vessel was placed in the disputed shoal in 1999 in response to Beijing’s 1995 occupation of nearby Mischief Reef.

It was installed three years before the signing of a South China Sea non-binding code of conduct between the ASEAN members and Beijing in 2002.

But China has frequently repeated its call for Manila to remove the rusty vessel from its position, claiming the entity was “deliberately” placed in the shoal, which it considers part of its territory.

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, which overlaps with the waters of the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.