Chinese military boats attack Philippine vessel carrying out medical evacuation

In a video published by the Philippine Coast Guard on Friday, two Philippine vessels meet on the open seas to transfer an ill Filipino soldier. China Coast Guard boats shadow, block, and bump the Philippine vessels.

The event occurred last month while a soldier stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded Philippine Navy warship, was being medically evacuated from Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.

The soldier was retrieved from a Philippine Navy speedboat on May 19, according to the Philippine Coast Guard, who also reported to the China Coast Guard the “humanitarian nature” of their mission.

A Chinese-flagged inflatable speedboat is shown colliding with the two stopped Philippine vessels as they get ready to transfer the patient in a sequence of recordings made public by the Philippine Coast Guard.

More from World

Nepal's new PM pays homage to people died during the Gen Z protest in her first national address This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal

Other vessels, which the Philippines has determined to be from the Chinese Coast Guard, are also visible following and obstructing the Philippine Coast Guard boat’s progress.

According to a statement from the Philippine Coast Guard spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Jay Tarriela, the Chinese boats “engaged in dangerous manoeuvres” and “intentionally rammed” the Philippine Navy warship.

“The barbaric and inhumane behaviour displayed by the China Coast Guard has no place in our society,” Tarriela said.

“What should have been a simple medical evacuation operation was subjected to harassment,” he said.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Trump urges Nato to back sanctions on Russia, calls for 50–100% tariffs on China

“Their actions clearly demonstrated their intention to prevent the sick personnel from receiving the proper medical attention he urgently needed.”

China’s foreign ministry said in response to the accusation it could “allow” the Philippines to deliver “necessary supplies” and evacuate personnel from the Sierra Madre if Beijing were notified in advance.

“However, the Philippines should not use this as an excuse to ship construction materials to the deliberately grounded warship in an attempt to permanently occupy the Ren’ai Reef,” spokeswoman Mao Ning said, using China’s name for Second Thomas Shoal.

Beijing claims almost the entire waterway and there has been a series of confrontations involving Chinese and Philippine vessels near contested reefs, often around Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.

Second Thomas Shoal is about 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan and more than 1,000 kilometres from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan island.

The Filipino soldier was eventually loaded onto the Philippine Coast Guard boat and taken to Palawan, where he received hospital treatment.

The Philippines did not provide details of the soldier’s medical condition.