China says Philippines distorted facts about incident near disputed atoll

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BEIJING, Dec 17 - Chinas defence ministry accused the Philippines on Wednesday of distorting ‍the ​facts about an incident ‍involving the Chinese coast guard and Filipino ​fishermen ​near a South China Sea shoal, and defended Chinese actions as reasonable and lawful.

Manilas ‍coast guard said over the weekend that ​three Filipino ⁠fishermen were injured and two fishing vessels damaged when Chinese coast guard ships cut their ​anchor lines and fired water cannon near the Sabina ‌Shoal on Friday.

China ​will take strong and effective measures in response to all acts of infringement and provocation, read the statement from Chinas defence ministry on its social media account.

The Embassy ‍of the Philippines in Beijing and ​the Philippines defence ministry did not immediately ​respond to Reuters requests for ‌comment. REUTERS