The Philippines and China accused each other on Monday of ramming vessels and executing dangerous maneuvers in the South China Sea, marking a new escalation just weeks after the two countries agreed to work on managing maritime disputes.
According to the Chinese Coast Guard, a Philippine vessel ignored repeated warnings and "deliberately collided" with a Chinese vessel in a "dangerous and unprofessional" manner in the disputed waters early on Monday. The Philippines, however, rejected this account, accusing China of presenting a distorted version of events. The Philippines reported that two of its coast guard vessels faced "unlawful and aggressive maneuvers" by Chinese vessels near Sabina Shoal while en route to resupply Filipino personnel stationed on two occupied islands.
Jonathan Malaya, spokesperson for the National Security Council and Manila's South China Sea task force, stated that these dangerous maneuvers resulted in collisions that caused structural damage to both Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels. At a regular press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated that China would continue to take "resolute and forceful measures" to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights. Mao also urged the Philippines to honor its commitments and abide by the temporary agreements reached with China.
The United States condemned China's actions, with its ambassador to Manila, MaryKay Carlson, expressing solidarity with the Philippines on X, condemning the China Coast Guard's dangerous maneuvers that endangered lives and caused damage to the Philippine vessels.
Manila reported that the coast guard vessels, Cape Engano and Bagacay, were en route to resupply personnel stationed on Flat Island (known as Patag in Manila and Nanshan by China) when they were confronted by Chinese vessels near Sabina Shoal. The collision between Cape Engano and a Chinese ship occurred at approximately 3:24 a.m. on Monday (1924 GMT Sunday). About 16 minutes later, another Chinese coast guard ship rammed the Bagacay twice, inflicting a three-foot (one-meter) wide hole in the auxiliary room, according to Philippine officials and images shared by the PCG. PCG spokesperson Jay Tarriela highlighted that this was the most significant structural damage the coast guard had sustained due to China's dangerous maneuvers.
China's Coast Guard released a brief video of the incident, claiming it showed a Philippine coast guard ship "deliberately ramming" one of their vessels, but Malaya dismissed the video as misleading.
Chinese maritime authorities stated that the same Philippine vessel involved in the collision later entered waters near Second Thomas Shoal after being blocked from entering Sabina Shoal. Sabina Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands, is claimed by China, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
China's Coast Guard spokesperson, Gan Yu, asserted that two Philippine Coast Guard vessels "illegally intruded" into waters near Sabina Shoal without permission in the early hours of Monday. China claimed it had taken control measures against the Philippine ships according to the law and warned them to "immediately stop infringement and provocation."
Despite the incident, the Philippine task force confirmed that both vessels would continue their mission to resupply personnel on Flat Island. The confrontation occurred less than two weeks after a similar air incident between Chinese and Philippine military forces at Scarborough Shoal.