A Chinese coast guard ship and one of its militia vessels separately bumped a Philippine coast guard ship and a military-run supply boat Sunday off a disputed shoal in the South China Sea “in dangerous, irresponsible and illegal actions,” Philippine officials said.
They did not say if there were injuries or damage from the two incidents off the Second Thomas Shoal that the United States, a longtime treaty ally of the Philippines, immediately condemned. The Philippine government also condemned the latest confrontation in “the strongest degree” and called it a violation of Manila’s sovereignty.
The Chinese coast guard said the Philippine vessels “trespassed” into what it said were Chinese waters “without authorization” despite repeated radio warnings, prompting its ships to stop them. It blamed the Philippine vessels for causing the collisions.
“The Philippine side’s behaviour seriously violates the international rules on avoiding collisions at sea and threatens the navigation safety of our vessels,” the Chinese coast guard said in a statement posted on its website.
The U.S. Ambassador to Manila, MaryKay Carlson, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “the United States condemns the PRC’s latest disruption of a legal Philippine resupply mission to Ayungin shoal, putting the lives of Filipino service members at risk.”
She used the initials for China’s formal name, the People’s Republic of China, and the name the Philippines uses for the Second Thomas Shoal. She added that Washington was standing with its allies to help protect Philippine sovereignty and to support a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
A Philippine government task force said the collisions occurred as two Philippine supply boats escorted by two Philippine coast guard ships were heading to deliver food and other supplies to the atoll in the face of a years-long Chinese blockade.
The task force said it “condemns in the strongest degree the latest dangerous, irresponsible, and illegal actions of the Chinese coast guard and the Chinese maritime militia done this morning in violation of Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction.”
The actions by the Chinese ships were “in utter blatant disregard of the United Nations Charter, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea” and international regulations that aim to prevent sea collisions, said the Philippine task force, which includes the country’s defence and foreign affairs departments, the military, national security council and the coast guard.
Near-collisions have happened frequently as Philippine vessels regularly deliver supplies to Filipino marines and sailors stationed on the disputed shoal. But this was the first time Philippine officials have reported their country’s vessels being hit by China’s ships.
In a recent incident in the South China Sea, a collision between a Philippines supply boat and a Chinese coast guard vessel has escalated tensions in the disputed region. The Philippines accused the Chinese coast guard vessel of dangerous manoeuvres that led to the collision, describing the actions as provocative, irresponsible, and illegal. On the other hand, China claimed that the Philippine boat deliberately crossed its path, resulting in a minor collision. Additionally, a Philippine coast guard ship was bumped by a Chinese maritime militia vessel, further intensifying the situation. Despite these incidents, one of the Philippine navy boats managed to deliver supplies to the BRP Sierra Madre, a long-marooned warship in the area.
These events are part of the ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea, involving multiple countries, and have raised concerns as a potential flashpoint in U.S.-China rivalry. The U.S. has reaffirmed its commitment to defend the Philippines as a treaty ally, and the South China Sea remains a contentious issue in the complex dynamics of the region.
