Beijing and Manila trade blame over South China Sea medical mission

China and the Philippines have traded accusations over a medical evacuation near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, with Manila also reporting a near-doubling of Chinese military and coastguard vessels around contested South China Sea features in September.

The latest exchange centred on the evacuation on Thursday of an injured Philippine serviceman from the BRP Sierra Madre, a Philippine naval vessel grounded on the shoal decades ago.

Known as Renai Jiao in China and Ayungin Shoal in the...