00:00Tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea have fled again
00:05after a Chinese Coast Guard ship fired a water cannon at a Philippine government vessel
00:10near the disputed Scarborough Shoal.
00:12The Philippine Coast Guard said the water cannon strike endangered personnel
00:16on board a fisheries vessel, carrying out what it described as a humanitarian mission.
00:23Beijing said two Philippine vessels had illegally entered waters around Scarborough Shoal
00:28and said its Coast Guard took what it described as lawful measures to drive them away.
00:33The latest confrontation comes just days after a separate clash at 2nd Thomas Shoal
00:38where both sides accused each other of provoking tensions.
00:42The incident happened as Southeast Asian foreign ministers gathered in Manila for ASEAN talks.
00:48China warned the Philippines of what it called bitter consequences
00:51if it continued to challenge Beijing's claims with the support of outside powers.
00:59Meanwhile, China began its two days of live-fire military drills on Thursday
01:04in parts of the Taiwan Strait, near the coast of its southeastern Fujian province.
01:09The exercises are being conducted around Dongshan Island,
01:12which is located off the Fujian coast, and borders neighboring Guangdong province.
01:17The drills began one day after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio
01:21met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Manila.
01:26China last carried out its largest military exercises around Taiwan in December
01:31after the U.S. announced a record $11.1 billion US dollar arms package for the island.
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