A US ally is furious and demanding answers from China after a 'hit and run' in the South China Sea

REUTERS/Stringer

The Philippines has accused China of ramming a Philippine fishing vessel, sinking it, and then abandoning the crew to drown in open waters. Vietnam, another South China Sea claimant state, has had similar problems with Chinese vessels, as can be seen in this photo.

• The Philippines is furiously demanding answers after an alleged "hit-and-run" incident in the South China Sea.
• The island nation claims that a Chinese fishing vessel rammed a Philippine ship, sank it, and then abandoned 22 Filipino fishermen in open water to drown. All the sailors were ultimately rescued by another ship nearby.
• The Philippines sent a formal diplomatic protest to Beijing Thursday condemning the actions of the Chinese ship and urging China to investigate the matter.
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The Philippines is taking China to task over an alleged "hit-and-run" incident in which a Chinese fishing ship fled the scene after it slammed into an anchored Philippine vessel in the South China Sea, sinking it and abandoning 22 Filipino fishermen in open waters to drown.

The troubling incident occurred this week near Reed Bank in the Spratly Islands, an area in the disputed South China Sea where Chinese naval and maritime militia forces have been increasingly active and, at times, forceful when enforcing its sovereignty claims.

The crew of the sunken Philippine vessel was ultimately rescued by a Vietnamese ship operating nearby.

Read more: Vietnam claims a Chinese ship rammed and sank a fishing boat in the latest South China Sea clash

The Philippines sent a formal diplomatic protest to Beijing Thursday in response to the "hit-and-run" incident. Teodoro Locsin, the secretary of foreign affairs for the Philippines, characterized the abandonment of the Philippine crew in violation of maritime norms as "contemptible and condemnable," local media ABS-CBN reported.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana accused the Chinese ship of intentionally ramming the Philippine vessel, FB Gimber1. Other defense officials have suggested the collision may have been an accident. The incident is currently under investigation.

President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte, who has sought closer ties to Beijing while at times sharply criticizing Washington, was "outraged" in the aftermath of the incident, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said, according to the South China Morning Post.

"We will not allow ourselves to be assaulted, to be bullied, to be the subject of such barbaric, uncivilized and outrageous actions," he explained at a press briefing Thursday. "Whether it's a form of bullying or not, it's outrageous, it's barbaric, it's uncivilized, and we're condemning it."

The spokesman said that if the incident was intentional, it will be considered an "act of aggression." Panelo added that the Philippines would consider cutting diplomatic ties with China.

There are, however, potentially broader implications should the situation escalate.

Earlier this year, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson informed China that its paramilitary maritime militia could be considered a combatant force, and in March, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo promised that "any armed attack on Philippine forces, aircraft or public vessels in the South China Sea will trigger mutual defense obligations."

The US has also been involved in confrontations in the Spratly Islands, where the Philippines accused China of sending hundreds of ships to swarm a Philippine-controlled territory a few months ago. Last September, a Chinese destroyer nearly slammed into a US Navy warship as it confronted the American vessel while the latter was conducting a freedom-of-navigation operation (FONOP) in the disputed waterway.

Read more: The Chinese military challenged a US destroyer to a South China Sea showdown

The Philippine foreign affairs secretary tweeted Wednesday that the Philippines would be handling this situation alone. "F--- the international community. This is our fight and in the end ours alone," he wrote, without providing additional clarity.

While China claims indisputable sovereignty over the vast majority of the South China Sea, including the Spratlys, its claims were previously discredited by an international arbitration tribunal. Beijing rejected the ruling and the authority of the tribunal and has continued to take steps to reinforce its claims.