MANILA - The Philippines said on Jan 25 it had suspended a scientific survey in the South China Sea after its fisheries vessels faced ‘harassment’ and aggressive behaviour from China’s coast guard and navy.

Manila and Beijing have had a series of escalating confrontations in disputed waters of the South China Sea. China claims almost all the strategic waterway, through which US$3 trillion (S$4.04 trillion) of commerce moves annually, overlapping with claims by the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

On Jan 24, two Philippine Bureau of Fisheries vessels, on their way to collect sand samples from Sandy Cay near the Philippine-occupied Thitu island, encountered “aggressive manoeuvres” from three Chinese Coast Guard vessels, the Philippine Coast Guard said in a statement.

China deployed four small boats to ‘harass’ two rigid hull inflatable boats deployed by the fisheries bureau to transport personnel to the Sandy Cay, said the Philippine Coast Guard, which supported the scientific mission.

A Chinese navy helicopter also hovered at an “unsafe altitude” over those craft, it said.

Survey operations were suspended “as a result of this continuous harassment and the disregard for safety exhibited by the Chinese maritime forces”, the Philippine Coast Guard said.

The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Manila and Beijing agreed during a round of talks on Jan 16 to seek common ground and find ways to cooperate despite their disagreements in the South China Sea.

An international arbitration tribunal ruled in 2016 that China's claims, based on its historic maps, have no basis under international law, a decision Beijing does not recognise. REUTERS

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