South China Sea: Beijing and Manila trade blame on second day of Scarborough Shoal clashes

Clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels near the fiercely contested Scarborough Shoal continued for the second day on Friday, marking the third such encounter between the rival South China Sea claimants this week.The latest stand-off came as China launched military drills in other parts of the contested waterway, which are expected to run until the end of July.The Chinese coastguard said its actions near Scarborough were “standardised and lawful”.“On July 24, the China Coast Guard [CCG] took control measures in accordance with the law towards multiple Philippine vessels engaged in illegal activities in waters under China’s jurisdiction off Huangyan Island,” the service said in a statement on Friday, using Beijing’s name for Scarborough Shoal, which is known as Panatag Shoal in the Philippines.Hours later, Philippine Coast Guard [PCG] spokesman Jay Tarriela released a statement with video, accusing the Chinese side of subjecting their vessels to “a series of water cannon attacks and dangerous manoeuvres”.He added that as of 9.30am on Friday, 10 Philippine vessels and 15 Chinese ships remained in a stand-off in the area.