(Eagle News)–The Department of Foreign Affairs has said it will probe reports a Greek oil tanker with a Filipino crew was recently warned against passing near Scarborough Shoal by a Chinese warship that said the shoal was under Chinese jurisdiction.
Online reports said on Sept. 30, the Green Aura, which had come from Thailand and was on its way to China, was nearing the shoal when it was radioed by the Chinese vessel that identified itself as a warship.
The Chinese vessel told the Green Aura to alter its course, but Filipino captain Manolo Ebora maintained he was merely exercising innocent passage.
The Chinese vessel instead tailed the Greek tanker until it left the area.
China is claiming almost all of the South China Sea, parts of which are in the Philippines.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled China’s nine-dash line, which China uses as basis for its claims, was invalid.
President Rodrigo Duterte invoked the ruling in a recent visit to China, but China has refused to budge.
The Palace said both the Philippines and China agreed to disagree, but vowed to move forward in other aspects.
