President Duterte was "outraged" by an incident involving Filipino and Chinese fishing boats at the Recto Bank in the South China Sea, and government is ready to cut ties with China if the Chinese fishermen are found to have intentionally hit the Filipino boat and abandoned its crewmen, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said yesterday. In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said it was an "ordinary maritime accident" and warned against "irresponsibly politicizing" the collision. He said China is investigating the incident.

Montemayor, J. (2019, June 14). PH ready to cut ties with China: Beijing: It's an 'ordinary maritime accident'. Malaya Business Insight, pp. B1, B6.