The Philippines has requested that China cease its provocative actions in the South China Sea.

The Philippines once again urged China to refrain from its “provocative actions”. They cautioned that China’s ongoing efforts to obstruct Manila’s resupply missions to a contested atoll in the South China Sea could lead to “catastrophic consequences”.

On Monday, during a press conference, the spokesperson for the National Security Council, Jonathan E. Malaya, reported that China’s action of impeding a resupply mission on Sunday caused harm to one of Manila’s boats but there were no injuries.

On Sunday, the Chinese coastguard reported a minor crash between one of their vessels and a Philippine boat. The coastguard stated that they were legally preventing the boat from transporting prohibited building materials to the warship.

The government of Manila expressed strong disapproval and condemned the “dangerous blocking maneuvers” of the Chinese vessel.

“We are grateful and relieved that no Filipinos were harmed. However, we are troubled by the escalation and provocations by Chinese ships that have no legitimate reason to be in the West Philippine Sea,” stated Mr. Malaya.