The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Friday it was investigating a report that Chinese military boats pursued a civilian vessel carrying Filipino journalists in the disputed South China Sea. A television crew from ABS-CBN was traveling to Second Thomas Shoal in the contested Spratly Islands on Thursday when their vessel was allegedly chased by a Chinese Coast Guard boat and two attack craft. Tensions over the resource-rich sea have spiked in recent weeks after hundreds of Chinese vessels were detected at the Julian Felipe (Whitsun Reef), which is also in the Spratly archipelago.

Cruz, M. V, & Ramos-Araneta, M. (2021, April 10). Filipino boat chased by Sinos; AFP sets probe. Manila Standard, pp. A1, A2.