China/Philippines: Philippines and China in Dispute Over Reef

Mar 31, 2014 | Jane Perlez, The New York Times
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BEIJING — China accused the Philippines on Monday of illegally occupying Chinese territory after a Philippine vessel outmaneuvered the Chinese Coast Guard and resupplied a ship that has been stranded for 15 years on the Second Thomas Shoal, a tiny reef in the South China Sea.Chinese ships prevented the Philippines from resupplying the boat and its eight-man military crew in early March, but on Saturday a Philippine vessel manned by troops managed to keep the Chinese at bay by going into shallow waters and lifting food onto the stranded ship.