At a Sept. 24 afternoon regular briefing, Ministry of Defense spokesman Jiang Bin said a China Coast Guard vessel Sanzhou'ao was conducting lawful rights-protection law-enforcement operations near Xianbin Reef in the Nansha (Spratly) Islands when Philippine government vessel 3015 ignored repeated warnings, altered course and accelerated to cut across the CCG ship’s bow, causing a scrape. The ministry said evidence is clear, called the Philippine manoeuvre a deliberate, dangerous provocation that

At a Sept. 24 afternoon regular briefing, Ministry of Defense spokesman Jiang Bin said a China Coast Guard vessel Sanzhou'ao was conducting lawful rights-protection law-enforcement operations near Xianbin Reef in the Nansha (Spratly) Islands when Philippine government vessel 3015 ignored repeated warnings, altered course and accelerated to cut across the CCG ship’s bow, causing a scrape. The ministry said evidence is clear, called the Philippine manoeuvre a deliberate, dangerous provocation that endangered Chinese personnel and vessels and breached international law and basic norms, and accused the Philippines of spreading a false victim narrative. China said it will continue to take effective measures to firmly defend territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea.