The Philippine Navy on Monday accused the Chinese coast guard of seizing a floating object that its troops had just recovered in disputed South China Sea waters.
A senior Filipino navy official made the allegation on the eve of a visit by US Vice President Kamala Harris to Palawan aimed at boosting ties amid China’s growing regional clout.
A Chinese coastguard vessel on Sunday blocked a Filipino rubber boat towing an “unidentified floating object” toward Philippine-garrisoned Thitu island in the Spratly group, Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said.
The coast guard vessel then deployed an inflatable boat team which “forcefully retrieved said floating object by cutting the towing line attached to the (Filipino) rubber boat,” he said in a statement.
But according to a statement from the Chinese embassy in Manila, there was no use of force in retrieving the object at the scene.
“At around 8:00 am on November 20 a China Coast Guard ship found an unidentified floating object in the waters off the Nansha Islands, which was later identified as the wreckage of the fairing of a rocket recently launched by China,” the embassy said, citing the spokesperson of China’s foreign ministry.
“Before the China Coast Guard found the said floating object some Philippine Navy personnel already retrieved and towed it. After friendly consultation the Philippine side returned the floating object to the Chinese side on the spot,” the Chinese embassy added.
Th embassy said the Chinese side “expressed gratitude to the Philippine side.”
“There was no so-called blocking of the course of a Philippine Navy boat and forcefully retrieving the object at the scene,” it added.
The object “looks similar” to floating debris that resembled Chinese rocket fragments that were recovered this month from the island of Busuanga, north of Palawan, military spokeswoman Major Cherryl Tindog told reporters.
The object, which the Filipinos first saw 732 meters west of Thitu in the morning, was then taken to the Chinese coast guard vessel as the Filipino troops returned to their station, Carlos said.
No Filipino soldiers were injured in the incident, he added.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of the incident and was awaiting the detailed reports from maritime law enforcement agencies.
The reported incident came hours before the US vice president began a three-day visit.
Harris met President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday and was set to visit Palawan, the closest major landmass to the Spratlys, on Tuesday.