Tensions in the South China Sea escalated again Friday after a Chinese Coast Guard vessel collided with a Philippine government ship, an encounter captured on video that prompted competing accounts from Manila and Beijing.
The Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel BRP Datu Magat Salamat was distributing fuel to Filipino fishermen when the collision occurred at 11:13 a.m., roughly 54 nautical miles off the coast of Palawan province — an area Manila says is well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard showed crew members shouting, “Brace for impact!” moments before the collision. Photographs taken afterward showed bent and detached railings, damaged metal supports and debris scattered across the Philippine ship’s deck. No injuries were reported.
Philippine officials accused Beijing of deliberately ramming a civilian government vessel on what they described as a humanitarian and livelihood mission.
Jay Tarriela, the Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for West Philippine Sea concerns, said the Chinese vessel first cut across the Philippine ship’s stern at a distance of about 33 feet before repeating the maneuver minutes later and colliding with it.
Beijing disputed Manila’s account. Chinese Coast Guard spokesperson Jiang Lue said the Philippine vessel “intentionally adjusted its course and suddenly accelerated to cut across the bow” of the Chinese ship after disregarding repeated warnings. China said its vessel had been conducting lawful operations near Sabina Shoal and blamed the Philippine side for the collision.
The incident also drew Washington into the dispute. U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton said the United States “strongly condemn[s] the China Coast Guard’s deliberate ramming.”
The Chinese Embassy in Manila responded by accusing the United States of backing Philippine “infringement and provocations” in the disputed waters.
Friday’s collision was the latest in a series of maritime confrontations between China and the Philippines. In July, Manila accused Chinese forces of firing water cannons at government vessels near Scarborough Shoal and striking a Philippine Navy staff member in the head with a wooden baton during an encounter at Second Thomas Shoal.
