The Philippines says it was forced to halt a scientific survey after Chinese maritime forces intercepted the mission and created “hazardous conditions.”
Newsweek reached out to the Philippine armed forces and China‘s Foreign Ministry with emailed requests for comment.
Why It Matters
The Filipino ships had been en route to Sandy Cay, a collection of three sandbars a few miles west of the Philippines-administered Thitu Island, the only permanently populated feature in the contested Spratly Islands.
Beijing’s claims to most of the heavily trafficked South China Sea overlap with those of several neighboring states, including the Philippines.
