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Philippines, China Trade Accusations over South China Sea Collision

This frame grab taken from video footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) via AFPTV on December 9, 2023 shows a Chinese Coast Guard ship (R) using a water cannon on a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea. (Photo by Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
This frame grab taken from video footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) via AFPTV on December 9, 2023 shows a Chinese Coast Guard ship (R) using a water cannon on a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea. (Photo by Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
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Philippines, China Trade Accusations over South China Sea Collision

This frame grab taken from video footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) via AFPTV on December 9, 2023 shows a Chinese Coast Guard ship (R) using a water cannon on a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea. (Photo by Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
This frame grab taken from video footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) via AFPTV on December 9, 2023 shows a Chinese Coast Guard ship (R) using a water cannon on a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea. (Photo by Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)

The Philippines and China traded accusations on Sunday over a collision of their vessels in disputed waters of the South China Sea as tensions over claims in the vital waterway escalate.
The Philippine coast guard accused China of firing water cannons and ramming resupply vessels and a coast guard ship, causing "serious engine damage" to one, while China's coast guard said the Philippine vessel intentionally rammed its ship, Reuters said.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said China's claims had no legal basis.
Beijing and Manila have been playing cat-and-mouse around the uninhabited Second Thomas Shoal in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone when the Philippines deploys resupply missions for Filipino soldiers living aboard an aging warship deliberately run aground in 1999 to protect Manila's maritime claims.
The shoal is part of what are known internationally as the Spratly Islands.
On Saturday, the Philippines accused China of "illegal and aggressive actions" by China for firing water cannon at a civilian-operated government fishing vessel, a move Beijing called legitimate "control measures".
In Sunday's incident, China's coast guard said in a statement that two Philippine vessels, ignoring repeated warnings, had "illegally entered the waters adjacent to Ren'ai Reef in the Nansha Islands without the approval of the Chinese government."
It said the Unaizah Mae 1 "made an unprofessional and dangerous sudden turn, intentionally ramming into China Coast Guard vessel 21556." It said the Philippine side bore full responsibility.
Philippine coast guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela posted on the social media platform X that the "M/L Kalayaan suffered serious engine damage. Contrary to China Coast Guard disinformation, UM1 rammed by CCG vessel."
A Philippine government task force condemned "China's latest unprovoked acts of coercion and dangerous maneuvers against a legitimate and routine" resupply mission. China's action "puts into question and significant doubt the sincerity of its calls for peaceful dialogue", it said in a statement.
The National Task Force-West Philippine Sea said a coast guard ship was towing the Kalayaan back to Palawan province and that coast guard vessel BRP Cabra had "suffered damage to its mast after being directly targeted by the full strength of the water cannon".
US Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson posted on X that China's "aggression undermines regional stability in defiance of a free and open Indo-Pacific".
Around 200 Philippine fishermen, youth leaders and civil society groups have joined a Christmas mission to the area, organized by the Atin Ito ("This is ours") a civilian-led network asserting the country's rights in the South China Sea.
Ten fishing boats have decided to pull out as they "erred on the side of caution", the group said on Sunday.

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Biden's Daunting Exit List: Gaza Ceasefire, Ukraine Aid, US Steel

President Joe Biden speaks during a Hanukkah reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP)
President Joe Biden speaks during a Hanukkah reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP)
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Biden's Daunting Exit List: Gaza Ceasefire, Ukraine Aid, US Steel

President Joe Biden speaks during a Hanukkah reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP)
President Joe Biden speaks during a Hanukkah reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP)

With a month left in the White House, US President Joe Biden has a long list of foreign and domestic policy actions he hopes to get done before president-elect Donald Trump assumes office, where the Republican is expected to try to reverse much of Biden's record.

Atop Biden's list are final, hurried pushes to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of American hostages abroad, distribute more aid to Ukraine, issue more pardons to non-violent criminals, forgive more student debt, release more funding for semiconductor chip production, and potentially block the sale of US Steel, according to White House aides and an internal memo seen by Reuters.

The list reflects how drawn-out and bloody wars in Europe and the Middle East on Biden's watch hijacked his legacy overseas, where he promised to restore and strengthen American leadership. Simultaneously, Democrats' election failures have shaken his legacy at home.

Biden, 82, promised to remake the US economy as president and clocked significant legislative wins in the first half of his four-year term, including the bipartisan infrastructure and inflation reduction bills.

But major lawmaking essentially ground to a halt after Republicans won the House in the 2022 midterm elections. Some Democrats blame Biden's refusal to step aside as candidate for their colossal defeats this November, most notably Vice President Kamala Harris' loss to Trump in every battleground state.

Securing a ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas that Palestinian authorities say has killed over 45,000 in Gaza, and bolstering Ukraine's defense in its nearly 3-year war with Russia are top priorities, White House officials say.

"This is not an uncommon thing for presidents at the end of their term or in the transition period if there are unresolved conflicts," said US presidential historian and Vanderbilt University professor Thomas Alan Schwartz.

A ceasefire deal in the 14-month war in Gaza could happen in the coming days, with the administration making a forceful diplomatic push this week. Similar hopeful discussions have flopped in the past, but the scope of this agreement is narrower.

Biden is also rushing weapons to Ukraine for fear that Trump, who often boasts of his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, may be less likely to aid Ukraine's war effort.

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Biden's final domestic policy sprint will include distributing the remaining funds he secured through his landmark investment legislation, including high-speed internet funding to states, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. In January, he is expected to announce a $2,000 prescription drug cost cap for Medicare recipients, and he will work with Congress to get federal judges confirmed until the last minute, the memo said.

The stage is all but set for Biden to block the sale of US Steel to an overseas buyer as soon as next week, something he has promised to do for nearly a year as he touts his mission to keep and expand manufacturing on US soil.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews deals for national security risks, has a Dec. 23 deadline to approve the deal, extend the review, or recommend Biden scuttle it.

On this issue, Biden and Trump agree: Trump said earlier this month that he would block the deal.

Other priorities involve policies or programs that Trump is likely to oppose, including efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.

The Treasury Department is expected as soon as today to issue its highly contested final guidance for the Inflation Reduction Act's tax credit for hydrogen projects, and Biden officials are conferring with EU peers on locking in methane emissions before Trump takes office.

The Commerce Department is rapidly awarding its remaining funds to boost US semiconductor chip manufacturing, which were allocated by Biden's CHIPS and Science Act. Trump has criticized the program's price tag, casting its future in doubt.