The Philippines has released footage showing a Chinese warship colliding with a Chinese coastguard vessel while both were pursuing a Philippine patrol boat near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. The incident occurred on Monday as the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) escorted vessels delivering aid to local fishers.
Video released by Manila shows a Chinese coastguard ship and a larger vessel bearing the number 164 on its hull crashing into each other. Additional images reveal the smaller Chinese vessel with its entire bow crumpled inward, rendering it unseaworthy, according to PCG spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela.
Tarriela stated that the Chinese coastguard vessel CCG 3104 performed a risky manoeuvre while chasing the PCG vessel BRP Suluan at high speed, leading to the collision with the People's Liberation Army navy warship. The BRP Suluan had earlier been targeted with a water cannon by the Chinese but evaded it successfully.
China has not confirmed the collision. Chinese coastguard spokesperson Gan Yu said his forces took lawful measures, including monitoring and blocking, to drive away Philippine vessels that had forcibly intruded into Chinese waters. He reiterated China's claim to the shoal, which it calls Huangyan Dao.
The incident is the latest in a series of confrontations between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, where Beijing claims almost all of the waterway despite an international ruling against its assertions. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said his country's patrol vessels would continue to defend its sovereign rights in the area.
