China Demands the Philippines Remove WWII Wreck

A file image of BRP Sierra Madre, a stranded wreck from the Second World War, now at the heart tof a diplomatic dispute between China and the Philippines. Image: Ted Aljibe / AFP

The government of the Philippines summoned the Chinese ambassador to account for an incident earlier this week in which a Chinese coast guard vessel sprayed a Philippine fishing boat with a water cannon.

Meanwhile, Beijing is demanding that the Philippines tow away BRP Sierra Madre, a WWII-era shipwreck stranded on the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. The ship serves as a makeshift base, and China complains that Manila is using it as a way to project power over parts of the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea that are claimed by both countries.

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by Cobus van Staden

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