Sabina Shoal: The new China-Philippines flashpoint in South China Sea

Sabina Shoal is located in the oil-rich Spratly Islands of the South China Sea

A new flashpoint has emerged in the ongoing maritime dispute between China and the Philippines, with both countries clashing over yet another spot in the South China Sea.

Both China and the Philippines have staked their claims on various islands and zones in the Sea — their dispute increasingly escalating over the years with more vessel collisions, scuffles, and allegations of armed threats.

But last week, things came to a head when Beijing and Manila's vessels collided near the Sabina Shoal- both accusing the other of ramming them on purpose.

The shoal, claimed by China as Xianbin Jiao and as Escoda Shoal by the Philippines, is located some 75 nautical miles from the Philippines' west coast and 630 nautical miles from China.

On 19 August, several Chinese and Philippine vessels collided near the shoal in the disputed Spratly Islands — an area rich in oil and gas, which has been claimed by both countries for years.

The Chinese coast guard said that the Philippine vessel «deliberately collided» into them, while the Philippines said the Chinese vessels were conducting «aggressive manoeuvres».

A second round of collisions took place on Sunday, with both sides once again blaming each other. Several other countries including the UK, Japan, Australia and South Korea, as well as the EU, have criticised China's actions.

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Watch: Moment Philippines and China collide for a second time at Sabina Shoal

On Monday, the Philippines said 40 Chinese ships prevented two of their boats from conducting a «humanitarian mission» to restock the Teresa Magbuana, a Philippine coast guard ship deployed months earlier to the shoal.

The Philippines suspects China is attempting to reclaim land at Sabina Shoal. It has pointed to underwater mounds of crushed coral on Sabina's sandbars, which its coast guard filmed, saying Beijing is using that material to expand the shoal. Chinese state media has called such accusations «groundless».

Authorities sent the Teresa Magbuana to Sabina in April as part of a prolonged presence they plan to maintain at the shoal. Manila sees it as key to their efforts to