Maritime patrollers intercepted on Tuesday, 6 May 2014 a Chinese fishing vessel with 11 crewmembers near Half Moon Shoal, an area very close to mainland Palawan in Philippines

Philippines should stop taking provocative actions, Chinese ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said the Philippine authorities seized the ship and arrested its crew in the enforcement of maritime laws and the upholding sovereign rights over the country’s exclusive economic zone.