Manila says a Chinese navy vessel collides with one from its own coastguard while chasing a Philippine patrol boat.
China’s coastguard says it has expelled Philippine vessels from waters around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea while Manila reports a collision in the confrontation.
The Philippine boats were intercepted on Monday after they ignored warnings in an operation China’s coastguard said was “professional, standardised, legitimate and legal”.
The incident is the latest in a series of confrontations between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest maritime routes, which Beijing claims almost entirely despite an international ruling that the assertion has no legal basis. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claim parts of the contested waters.
“The China Coast Guard took necessary measures in accordance with the law, including monitoring, pressing from the outside, blocking and controlling the Philippine vessels to drive them away,” said Gan Yu, a Chinese coastguard spokesperson.
Chinese vessel damaged?
Manila, meanwhile, stated that a Chinese navy vessel collided with one from its own coastguard while chasing a Philippine patrol boat, and it released video footage of the confrontation.
“The [Chinese coastguard vessel] CCG 3104, which was chasing the [Philippine coastguard vessel] BRP Suluan at high speed, performed a risky manoeuvre from the [Philippine] vessel’s starboard quarter, leading to the impact with the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] Navy warship,” spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a statement.
“This resulted in substantial damage to the CCG vessel’s forecastle, rendering it unseaworthy,” he said.
The incident occurred as the Philippine coastguard escorted boats distributing aid to fishermen in the area, Tarriela added.
“In a video sent to reporters, a Chinese coastguard vessel can be seen heading towards a Philippine coastguard vessel when suddenly a Chinese navy ship cuts between and that’s when the two Chinese ships collide with each other,” said Al Jazeera’s Barnaby Lo, reporting from Manila.
The Chinese coastguard vessel sustained “significant damage”, a direct result of “dangerous maneuvering by the Chinese”, Lo cited the Philippines as stating.
