China and the Philippines said on Friday that they had launched coordinated rescue operations after receiving reports of a cargo vessel in distress near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. The ship, which was carrying 21 Filipino crew members, capsized early on Friday morning while en route to southern China.
Seventeen Rescued, Two Confirmed Dead
According to China’s military, 17 crew members were rescued following reports at around 1:30 a.m. on Friday (1730 GMT Thursday) that a foreign cargo ship had overturned near the shoal. Two of the rescued crew later died, and one remains in critical condition.
China said it dispatched aircraft to conduct aerial searches, while the Chinese Coast Guard sent two vessels to assist in the operation. Maritime authorities were organising additional rescue forces to continue the search for missing crew.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) confirmed that the vessel was Singapore-flagged and loaded with iron ore. It was bound for the southern Chinese city of Yangjiang when it capsized. The PCG said it deployed two aircraft and two vessels to join the search and rescue mission.
“The PCG Command Center acquired information from the Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre that 10 of the 21 Filipino crew members were rescued by a passing China Coast Guard vessel,” the PCG said in a statement.
Search Efforts Continue in Disputed Waters
Scarborough Shoal, located within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, is one of the most hotly contested areas in the South China Sea. Both China and the Philippines claim sovereignty over the atoll, and it has frequently been a flashpoint in regional maritime tensions.
The joint rescue effort comes just days after a separate incident heightened tensions in the area. On Tuesday, China’s military said it had deployed naval and air units to “drive away” a Philippine government aircraft that it accused of “illegally intruding” into airspace over the shoal.
A Rare Moment of Cooperation
Despite ongoing disputes, Friday’s rescue marked a rare instance of operational coordination between Chinese and Philippine authorities. Both countries have expressed commitment to continuing the search until all missing crew members are accounted for.
The South China Sea remains a volatile region, with overlapping territorial claims by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia. Beijing continues to assert near-total sovereignty over the waterway, while regional neighbours and international observers have called for restraint and adherence to maritime law.
with inputs from Reuters
