Why is a Chinese research ship the latest flashpoint with Philippines in South China Sea?

Beijing and Manila have traded barbs over a Chinese research vessel near a disputed South China Sea reef, with each warning of further countermeasures, a sign of lingering tensions between the two rival claimants. In a statement issued on Thursday night, China Coast Guard (CCG) spokesman Jiang Lue said a Philippine Coast Guard Islander aircraft had “deliberately approached and harassed” China’s Xiang Yang Hong 33 scientific research vessel on Wednesday while the ship was conducting a “legitimate...