Chinese ship runs aground off Philippines-occupied island in the disputed South China Sea

A Chinese ship ran aground in stormy weather in shallow waters off a Philippines-occupied island in the disputed South China Sea, prompting Filipino forces to go on alert, Philippine military officials said Sunday.
When Filipino forces assessed that the Chinese fishing vessel appeared to have run aground in the shallows east of Thitu Island on Saturday because of bad weather, Philippine military and coast guard personnel deployed to provide help but later saw that the ship had been extricated, regional navy spokesperson Ellaine Rose Collado said.
No other details were immediately available, including if there were injuries among the crewmembers or if the ship was damaged, Collado said.
Confrontations have spiked between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and navy ships in the disputed waters in recent years.
"The alertness of our troops is always there,' Col. Xerxes Trinidad of the Armed Forces of the Philippines told reporters. But when they saw that a probable accident had happened, 'we tried to provide assistance as professionals' in accordance with international law on helping distressed vessels at sea.
"We're always following international law,' Trinidad said.
Filipino villagers living in a fishing village on Thitu, which they call Pagasa island, immediately informed the Philippine military and coast guard after seeing the Chinese ship lying in the shallows about 1.5 nautical miles (2.7 kilometers) from their village, said MP Albayda, a local Filipino official, told The Associated Press.
'They got worried because the Chinese were so close but it was really the strong wind and waves that caused the ship to run aground," said Albayda, adding that other Chinese ships pulled the stricken vessel away.
The stricken ship resembled what the Philippine military had repeatedly said were suspected Chinese militia ships, which had backed the Chinese coast guard and navy in blocking and harassing Philippine coast guard and military vessels in the disputed waters, a busy conduit for global trade and commerce.
Thitu Island is home to a Philippine fishing village and Filipino forces and is the largest of nine islands and islets occupied by the Philippines. It lies about 26 kilometers (16 miles) from Subi Reef, which China transformed into an island base along with six other barren reefs to reinforce its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea.
Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are also involved in the long-simmering territorial standoffs, an Asian flashpoint that many fear could pit China and the United States in a major conflict.
The U.S. does not lay any claim to the South China Sea but has repeatedly warned that it's obligated to defend the Philippines, it's longtime treaty ally, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Sky News

a day ago

• Sky News

How are investigators looking into the Air India crash - and how long could they take?

The devastating Air India plane crash which killed 229 passengers and 12 crew has been labelled a "mystery" by experts. The Gatwick-bound flight, which was carrying 53 Britons, came down just after take-off from Ahmedabad airport in western India on Thursday 12 June, leaving only one survivor and also killing people on the ground. CCTV footage was captured of the crash, but experts say it has led to more questions than answers. An ongoing investigation will be reviewing the footage and other key evidence left in the crash's wake. But what are investigators looking at - and how long could it take? What is unusual about the crash? Air India Flight 171 took off from Ahmedabad Airport at 1.38pm local time on Thursday, and was only in the air for around half a minute. CCTV footage shows the plane struggling to gain altitude and it quickly begins to descend towards buildings, with its wheels still out and its nose raised. 0:56 It crashed into a densely populated neighbourhood in Ahmedabad, killing at least 29 other people on the ground. According to flight-tracking website Flightradar, the aircraft reached a height of just 625ft before crashing. The plane was a 12-year-old Boeing 787 Dreamliner, of which there are currently around 1,200 in operation worldwide. While other Boeing planes like the 787 Max have been plagued by high-profile safety incidents, this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of the Dreamliner model's operation, according to experts. 1:16 Several experts have told Sky News that they spotted potential anomalies in the footage. One of them was the landing gear, which appears to remain open throughout the clip. Former British Airways pilot Alastair Rosenschein and Paul Edwards, an aviation security analyst and fellow at the Royal Aeronautical Society, have told Sky News the landing gear should have been up and that this remains a mystery. 6:51 Mr Rosenschein is also among the experts who have called into question the aircraft's flaps, which need to be set correctly as they extend the shape of each wing and create vital extra lift at lower speeds to enable the plane to take-off and climb effectively. Some have also suggested a bird strike could be linked to the crash, but experts have pointed out that the aircraft has two engines and is designed to be able to fly on one, making this unlikely. What are investigators looking at? The investigation is being carried out by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) with assistance from the UK, the US and officials from Boeing. Anti-terror squads have also been part of the investigation teams, according to Reuters. Aurobindo Handa, former director general of AAIB, told Sky News that any theories about what may have caused the incident are at this point purely speculative. He says the most crucial thing for investigators was to retrieve the black boxes - or Digital Flight Data Recorders (DFDR) - from the crash site. Black boxes have two components - the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder - and provide crucial insights for crash investigators. They include altitude, airspeed, the status of controls and pilot conversations which help determine probable causes of crashes. They also store essential information about the configuration of the aircraft, including the flaps and landing gear. Mr Handa said that when there is a crash, the retrieval of the black boxes becomes the "primary focus" straight after first responders have carried out their rescue mission. It took investigators more than a day to recover the black boxes, longer than it took in many of the investigations Mr Handa oversaw, and he said this would have been because the aircraft was badly charred from fire. Indian newspaper The Economic Times reported that they were due to be sent to the US so the data could be extracted, as they had suffered fire damage and could not be analysed in India. The government said in a statement that the AAIB would decide where the recorders would be examined after making a "due assessment" of all technical, safety and security considerations. Mr Handa said analysing the boxes' raw data will take some time. "There are hundreds of components and instruments giving feedback to the DFDRs," he explained. "All the control services, all the engine parameters - everything goes into this." Investigators are also looking at the plane's remnants from the crash site, which they compare with the flight data when coming to conclusions. But Mr Handa said the investigators will likely be particularly reliant on the black box data in this instance because so much of the plane will be unrecoverable due to the fires. They will also be scanning CCTV footage of the nearby area and speak with witnesses to get to the root cause of the crash, according to Amit Singh, a former pilot and an aviation expert. Reuters has reported that investigators are assessing why the landing gear was open, citing a source "with direct knowledge", and that they are also looking at any possible operational issues with flaps. A possible bird strike is not a focus of the investigation, Reuters has reported. How long could the investigation take? Investigators across the world follow a standard UN-prescribed Manual of Accident Investigation, also called DOC 9756, which outlines detailed procedures to arrive at the most probable cause of a crash. In the case of a high-profile investigation of a major accident, countries are encouraged by the manual to publish a preliminary report within 30 days of the incident, but this is not mandatory. The guidance says the state should aim to release its final report "in the shortest possible time and, if possible, within twelve months of the date of the occurrence". It adds that if this is not possible, the state should release an interim statement on each anniversary of the incident detailing the progress of the investigation and any safety issues raised. Mr Handa told Sky News the findings will likely not be published anytime soon, even if the investigators believe they have found the probable cause of the crash early on, because they must examine and analyse every possibility and every piece of data available to them. He added that it is not just a case of finding the cause of the crash, but also uncovering the chain of events that led to that failure.

The Independent

a day ago

• The Independent

Indian tigress dies after long battle with bone cancer

One of India 's most iconic wild tigers, Arrowhead of Ranthambore, has died after a long battle with illness, shortly after her daughter was relocated following fatal attacks. Arrowhead, also called Lady of the Lake for her crocodile hunting skills, was found dead near Jogi Mahal in the Ranthambore reserve in western India on Thursday. She was around 14 years old. The tigress, officially designated T-84, had reportedly suffered from a bone tumour. She had stopped eating on Monday and appeared extremely thin and weak in her final video. An autopsy confirmed multiple organ failure. Forest officials cremated her body following National Tiger Conservation Authority protocols, with a gathering of wardens, wildlife photographers, and local conservationists present. The tigress, named for the distinct arrow-shaped mark on her cheek, was known for her fierce independence and unusual hunting skills, including eating crocodiles. Just days before her death, she was reportedly seen taking down a crocodile near Padam Talab, in a powerful echo of her grandmother, Machhli, Ranthambore's most famous big cat and original 'crocodile hunter.' Arrowhead's final moments were captured by Sachin Rai, a wildlife photographer who had tracked her since she was a cub. 'It was heartbreaking to see her struggle, attempting to rise and take a few feeble steps before collapsing again,' he wrote in a post accompanying video footage. 'Eventually, she reached a tree and lay beneath it. In that quiet moment, I knew in my heart that the end was near.' Arrowhead was the daughter of tigress Krishna and had inherited a prime territory in the reserve around Padam Talab. She raised ten cubs from four litters, and six of them survive her. She had several confrontations with male tigers over the years and even her own daughter, Riddhi, who eventually displaced her. Arrowhead's death came just hours after another of her daughters, Kankati, was tranquilised and relocated to the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve. Kankati had recently been involved in fatal attacks on a forest ranger and a 7-year-old child. 'It is a disheartening coincidence that she passed away on the same day when her daughter was being shifted,' field director Anoop K R said, according to the Hindustan Times. Arrowhead's death sparked an outpouring of tributes. Ranthambore's Instagram account posted: 'She was a symbol of grace, strength and motherly spirit.' Mr Rai echoed the sentiment, calling her 'a true tigress in every sense'. 'Arrowhead was a symbol of wild grace, of power tempered by patience, of survival against all odds,' he said. For many in India's wildlife conservation community, Arrowhead's death marks the end of an era – another link to Machhli lost. Her legacy, though, is being carried forward by the next generation of big cats.

Telegraph

2 days ago

• Telegraph

Air India crash jet had new engine

The Air India chairman has defended the engines of the plane that crashed last week killing 270 people. Natarajan Chandrasekaran claimed that both engines had 'clean' histories, adding that one was new in March and the other was not due for servicing until December. All but one of the passengers and crew died when the Boeing 787 Dreamliner plunged into a built-up suburb last Thursday, less than a minute after take-off from Ahmedabad airport. The circumstances have led to speculation the engines failed after leaving the runway. However, in an interview with an Indian news channel, Mr Chandrasekaran advised against jumping to conclusions. Mr Chandrasekaran told Times Now: 'The right engine was a new engine put [in] in March 2025. The left engine was last serviced in 2023 and due for its next maintenance check in December 2025. 'There are a lot of speculations and a lot of theories. But the fact that I know so far is this particular aircraft, this specific tail, AI171, has a clean history. 'I am told by all the experts that the black box and recorders will definitely tell the story. So, we just have to wait for that.' In response to the crash, all Indian-registered Dreamliners are undergoing special inspections. However, neither Indian nor US aviation regulators have demanded the grounding of all 787s until those checks are carried out. Mr Chandrasekaran's comments came after India's aviation watchdog demanded the training records of the pilots. Stephanie Pope, the head of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, is said to have met the chairman to discuss the crash at the airline's headquarters near New Delhi. Since the crash, Air India has been blighted by technical issues on a number of its flights. Investigators have recovered two black boxes from the wreckage, which will contain vital information about what went wrong. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was the only survivor of the crash. Sitting in seat 11A, on an exit row next to a door, he was able to escape from the wreckage before it was consumed by the post-crash fire.