You guys don't understand Chinese gov at all
if it is really a accident， state media won't spread this news actively cause it's a shame of navy
If you check the reef where the frigate run aground, you will find it's very near Palawan Island
This incident is a kind of strategy, Half moon reef will be controlled by China from now on.
China frigate heads home, averts S.China Sea standoff | World | Reuters
WRONG ANSWER, BIG EMBARRASSMENT ... MODED !
China Frigate Heads Rome, Averts New Philippines Row
Sun Jul 15, 2012 4:09am GMT By Manuel Mogato and Ben Blanchard
MANILA/BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese frigate which ran aground in disputed waters close to the Philippines managed to extricate itself on Sunday and was heading home, averting a possible standoff with Philippine vessels amid rising tensions in the strategic South China Sea.
The South China Sea has become Asia's biggest potential military flashpoint as Beijing's sovereignty claim over a huge, looping area has set it against Vietnam and the Philippines as the three countries race to tap possibly huge oil reserves.
In all six parties have rival claims to the waters, which were a central issue at an acrimonious ASEAN regional summit last week that ended with its members failing to agree on a concluding statement for the first time in 45 years.
On Friday, the Chinese navy said one of its vessels had run aground on Half Moon Shoal, about 90 nautical miles (170 km) off the western Philippine island of Palawan, prompting Manila to send two of its vessels and reconnaissance aircraft to the area.
"At about 5 a.m. on July 15, the frigate which had run aground in waters near Half Moon Shoal successfully extricated itself with the help of a rescue team," China's defence ministry said in a statement.
"The bow has sustained light damage and everybody on board is safe. Its return to port is being organised. The incident caused no maritime pollution," the statement added, without providing further details.
A senior Philippine navy official said Manila was closely monitoring the situation around Half Moon Shoal after six Chinese ships were spotted by a surveillance plane on Saturday.
"As of Saturday night, the Chinese ships are still there and, as of today, we don't have any information if they were able to remove the ship there," Commodore Rustom Pena, commander of naval forces in western Philippines, told reporters.
China frigate heads home, averts S.China Sea standoff | World | Reuters
