South China Sea collision: Filipino soldiers clash ‘bare-handed’ with Chinese Coast guard

Philippines’s top military commander said that soldiers used their “bare hands” to fight off Chinese coast guard personnel armed with swords, spears and knives in the disputed South China Sea, BBC reported.

The Philippine government on Monday accused Chinese ships of ramming and damaging its boats in the South China Sea during a confrontation in waters off the Second Thomas Shoal, home to a garrison of Filipino troops. The U.S. State Department called the incident the latest in a series of Chinese “provocations” to impede supplies from reaching Philippines personnel stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre, a Philippine vessel grounded at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, site of repeated confrontations with China this past year.

“The People’s Liberation Army-Navy, China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia vessels engaged in dangerous maneuvers, including ramming and towing,” Manila’s national task force on the West Philippine Sea said in a statement.

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U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson condemned China’s “aggressive, dangerous” manoeuvres in a post on X, saying the collision had “caused bodily injury.” The U.S. State Department condemned what it called “escalatory and irresponsible” actions by China and reaffirmed that its mutual defence treaty with the Philippines applied to any armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, vessels, or aircraft anywhere in the South China Sea.

“PRC vessels’ dangerous and deliberate use of water cannons, ramming, blocking manoeuvres, and towing damaged Philippine vessels, endangered the lives of Philippine service members, is reckless, and threatens regional peace and stability,” US State Department statement said.

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China and the Philippines have traded barbs for months over dangerous manoeuvres at the Second Thomas Shoal, an atoll within Manila’s 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea. China claims the area as its own.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

The Chinese coastguard reported that a Philippine transport and replenishment ship had disregarded multiple warnings. In response, the Philippines’ task force on the South China Sea accused Chinese vessels of engaging in ramming and towing maneuvers, endangering lives and causing damage to boats.

Manila’s Defense Minister, Gilberto Teodoro said that China’s dangerous and reckless behaviour in the West Philippine Sea shall be resisted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. China’s actions are the true obstacles to peace and stability in the South China Sea, he said. These confrontations often surfaced when the Philippines undertakes resupply missions for its soldiers stationed on a decrepit warship intentionally grounded by Manila in 1999 to assert its sovereignty claims.

China has repeatedly warned the Philippines about entering what it calls its territorial waters. As of June 15, new Chinese regulations permit the coastguard to use lethal force against foreign vessels in these contested waters and detain suspected intruders for up to 60 days without trial.

In reaction, the Philippine coastguard announced on Monday the deployment of two vessels to safeguard Filipino fishermen near Scarborough Shoal, another disputed area approximately 640 kilometers (345 nautical miles) from Second Thomas Shoal.

With inputs from agencies.