Just before midnight on June 9, a Chinese fishing vessel rammed and partially sank a wooden Filipino fishing boat, the F/B Gem-Vir 1, then anchored at Reed Bank in the South China Sea. After the collision, the Chinese vessel reportedly turned off its signal lights and sailed away as the Filipino boat sank. He explained, “the Filipino boat was anchored. In a June 14 statement, Carpio argued that ordinary fishing vessels would not engage in ramming of other boats for fear of damaging their own vessels. The Reed Bank collision follows a series of worrying incidents that have put domestic pressure on the Duterte administration to take a tougher line on China.

Source: Philippine Star July 06, 2019 05:37 UTC