BEIJING, November 10. /TASS/. Philippine vessels have entered the waters near Ren’ai Reef (Ayungin Shoal, Second Thomas Shoal) in the South China Sea without being cleared by the Chinese government, the China Coast Guard (CCG) reported.
According to the CCG, "on November 10, two small transport vessels and three Philippine Coast Guard vessels entered the waters near Zhenai Reef," a part of the Spratly Islands archipelago, without authorization from the Chinese government. "The Philippines' actions violate China's territorial sovereignty, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and its own commitments," the maritime security agency said in a statement on its website. "We call on the Philippines to immediately stop these violations," the statement reads.
The China Coast Guard has been monitoring the Philippine vessels and "has taken control measures," the agency added.
China and the Philippines, as well as other countries in the region, have been embroiled in a territorial dispute concerning jurisdiction over the Spratly Islands, a largely uninhabited archipelago in the South China Sea that straddles major shipping lanes. The islands are valuable for their rich biological resources, strategic location at the crossroads of Indian and Pacific ocean shipping lanes, and potential hydrocarbon and mineral reserves.