The photo taken on May 3, 2024 shows the Philippine ships 4402 and 9701 are transferring supplies in the waters of China's Xianbin Jiao. Photo: China Coast Guard

The China Coast Guard (CCG) on Sunday took restrictive measures against a Philippine vessel that had illegally trespassed into waters off China's Xianbin Jiao in the South China Sea planning to send supplies to another Philippine ship anchored in the Chinese reef's lagoon, with Chinese experts calling on Manila to withdraw its quasi-grounded vessel.

Without the authorization of the Chinese government, the Philippine Ship 3002 on Sunday illegally trespassed into waters off Xianbin Jiao in China's Nansha Qundao and made repeated dangerous approaches to CCG ships that were sailing normally. The CCG took restrictive measures in accordance with the law and regulations, the CCG said in a press release. 

CCG spokesperson Gan Yu said that the Philippine ship ignored stern warnings from the Chinese side and intentionally rammed, in an unprofessional and dangerous way, into a CCG ship that was conducting normal law enforcement activities causing a bump. The Philippine side should take complete responsibility, Gan said.

Ding Duo, deputy director of the Institute of Maritime Law and Policy at China's National Institute for South China Sea Studies, said the Philippines was trying to provide daily supplies to its coast guard vessel MRRV-9701, which has been illegally anchored in the lagoon of Xianbin Jiao since April.

The CCG's restrictive measures show that China has sufficient means and capabilities to cut off Philippine supplies to MRRV-9701, prevent Philippine vessels from entering and leaving the lagoon, and take comprehensive law enforcement measures against Philippine vessels and personnel, Ding said, stressing that the Philippines does not have any legitimacy to anchor MRRV-9701 in Chinese territory.

Ding said that the Philippines should withdraw all ships, including the coast guard vessel, from Xianbin Jiao and work with China to manage differences and avoid escalating conflicts, rather than continuously sending supplies to the MRRV-9701 and endlessly creating incidents and hyping up maritime affairs.

Yang Xiao, deputy director of the Institute of Maritime Strategy Studies under the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said the Philippines' quasi-grounding of its coast guard vessel was not a good choice, because it gave up the mobility of the ship.

Manila's provocations at Xianbin Jiao actually brought Chinese management and control perimeters closer to the Philippines, making its illegally grounded warship at China's Ren'ai Jiao and other Chinese islands and reefs illegally occupied by the Philippines even more isolated, Yang said.