October 22, 2023

China urges the Philippines to take seriously China's grave concerns, honor its promise, stop making provocations at sea, stop groundlessly attacking as well as slandering China, and tow away the illegally "grounded" warship as soon as possible so that the peace and stability of the South China Sea will not be jeopardized and the common interests of countries in the region will not be affected, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

The Philippines on Sunday delivered supplies to the illegally "grounded" warship at Ren'ai Jiao. During the process, the China Coast Guard (CCG), in accordance with law, blocked the Philippine vessels that illegally delivered construction materials. The Philippine side said in a statement that a CCG vessel made "dangerous blocking maneuvers" that caused it to collide with a Philippine vessel.

In response, a spokesperson for the ministry said two civil vessels and two coast guard vessels of the Philippines, in disregard of the warnings of the CCG vessels, went headlong towards Ren'ai Jiao's lagoon and bumped dangerously with the CCG ships conducting law enforcement on the scene and the Chinese fishing vessels having normal fishing activities there.

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