By Harry Kazianis
First it was the ministers at this week’s ASEAN summit in Cambodia, failing to hammer out a joint statement (a first), or a code of conduct—both supposedly over disputes in the South China Sea. But then today it was reported that a Chinese Naval Frigate ran aground in the disputed area, ratcheting tensions higher.
Given the disputes in the area and China's positions on those disputes, the presence of a naval vessel may itself be provocative. The Sydney Morning Herald reports: “The stranded People's Liberation Army Navy boat, believed to be No 560, a Jianghu class frigate, has in the past been involved in aggressively discouraging Filipino fishing boats from the area.”
China’s Embassy in the Philippines issued a statement on its website:
“Some local media friends asked the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines to confirm the news of a grounded Chinese Navy vessel at Half Moon Shoal in Nansha Islands. According to the information we got from the Information Department of the Ministry of National Defense of China, around 7pm of July 11, a frigate of Chinese Navy ran aground accidentally at Half Moon Shoal of Nansha Isands during a routine patrol mission, with no personnel injured. Currently the rescue work by the Chinese Navy is underway.”
Half Moon Shoal, known in the Philippines as Hasahasa Shoal, is located just 65 nautical miles west from the island-municipality of Balabac in Palawan.
Read the full story at The Diplomat