Philippine security officials say Chinese forces have seized two Philippine rubber boats that were delivering food and other supplies to a military ship outpost in a disputed South China Sea shoal in a tense confrontation in which some Filipino navy personnel were injured.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The United States renewed a warning Tuesday that it is obligated to defend the Philippines, a treaty ally, a day after the hourslong hostilities in Second Thomas Shoal.
Five of the injured sailors were rescued by one of two Philippine coast guard patrol ships that were waiting at a distance to back up the navy’s supply mission at the shoal.
The two rubber supply boats were towed away by Chinese coast guard personnel and then abandoned after being damaged and emptied of their contents, including an unspecified number of rifles, the two officials said.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell discussed China’s actions with his Philippine counterpart, Maria Theresa Lazaro, in a telephone call.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said Monday night that his country’s armed forces would resist “China’s dangerous and reckless behavior” which “contravenes their statements of good faith and decency.”
Several other incidents have occurred in recent months near Second Thomas Shoal, which is less than 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the nearest Philippine coast and is where the BRP Sierra Madre, now encrusted with rust, was deliberately grounded in 1999 to create a territorial outpost.
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