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Beijing has insisted on Monday that it was defending its “rights” in the South China Sea, after the Philippines released footage appearing to show a Chinese coast guard vessel ramming one of its ships during an at-sea confrontation.
Both countries accused each other on Saturday of deliberately ramming their coast guard ships near a flashpoint shoal in the South China Sea, the latest in a spate of similar incidents in recent weeks.
The incident took place off the disputed Sabina Shoal, located 140 kilometers (86 miles) west of the Philippine island of Palawan and about 1,200 kilometers from Hainan island, the nearest major Chinese landmass.
