The China Coast Guard has announced that it has imposed control measures on Philippine vessels engaging in illegal activities in the waters near Huangyan Island.
According to Chinese state media reports, the Coast Guard issued a notice on the 24th, stating that on that day, China's Coast Guard lawfully imposed control measures on multiple Philippine vessels engaging in illegal activities in the waters under China’s jurisdiction near Huangyan Island.
The Philippines refers to Huangyan Island as Scarborough Shoal and Ren’ai Reef as Ayungin Shoal.
This week, new disputes have arisen between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. On the 23rd, the China Coast Guard stated that two Philippine government vessels intruded into the waters near Huangyan Island, where sovereignty is disputed in the South China Sea. The Philippines, on the other hand, accused China of firing water cannons at Filipino fishing boats, endangering the safety of Philippine personnel. This marks the second time the two sides have clashed in the South China Sea this week. Their foreign ministers also lodged mutual protests over earlier incidents during the ASEAN meeting.
On the 20th, Chinese and Philippine military and police vessels had just clashed near Ren’ai Reef, another area with unresolved sovereignty disputes. Both sides accused the other of provocation; the Philippines claimed that the mainland’s coast guard assaulted Filipino personnel, while Beijing countered, accusing the Philippines of "distorting the facts and falsely accusing the Chinese side."