China coastguard's 'dangerous manoeuvres' caused South China Sea collision, Philippines says

During a resupply mission for Philippine soldiers in the South China Sea, the Philippines on Tuesday accused China’s coast guard of engaging in “dangerous manoeuvres” that resulted in a collision between its coast guard ship and a Chinese vessel.

Speaking on social media platform X, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela stated that the PCG vessel had minor structural damage.

“Their reckless and illegal actions led to a collision,” Tarriela said in the social media post that was accompanied by video clips showing the moment the ships scraped each other’s bows.

One of two coast guard ships supporting a mission to deliver supplies for a small contingent of Filipino soldiers stationed aboard a warship Manila stranded on the Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to bolster claims to sovereignty was the PCG vessel.

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However, China’s coast guard said that it had to impose control measures since the Philippine warships had unlawfully entered the seas around the shoal, which it refers to as Renai Reef.

The Second Thomas Shoal is part of China’s claimed territory in the South China Sea. The country has put patrol boats there, along with “Chinese maritime militia” as Manila calls them, and they were also there during the resupply operation.

Tuesday’s incident was the latest in a series of maritime run-ins between the Philippines and China, which have been locked in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea despite a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration which found that China’s claims had no legal basis. Beijing rejects that ruling.

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While saying that the Philippines will cooperate in talks with China, its president Ferdinand Marcos Jr said at a forum in Australia on Monday, his country will push back, opens new tab when its sovereignty and maritime rights are ignored.

In a departure from his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte’s pro-China stance, Marcos has accused Beijing of aggression in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, including the use of water cannon, “military-grade” lasers and collision tactics to drive away Philippine vessels.

The China Coast Guard issued a brief statement on the latest incident between the countries along with other past coast guard actions, including a link to what it called the “illegal invasion of Scarborough Shoal” on Feb. 23.

In that incident it said a China Coast Guard ship took necessary measures to drive a Philippine vessel away in accordance with the law.