Philippines says its coast guard ship and supply boat are hit by Chinese vessels near disputed shoal

MANILA – A Chinese coast guard ship and one in all its defense force vessels one by one bumped a Philippine coast guard ship and a military-run supply boat Sunday off a disputed shoal within the South China Sea “in dangerous, irresponsible and illegal actions,” Philippine officers stated.

They didn’t say if there have been accidents or injury from the 2 incidents off the Second Thomas Shoal that the United States, a longtime treaty ally of the Philippines, right away condemned. The Philippine govt additionally condemned the latest confrontation in “the strongest degree” and known as it a contravention of Manila’s sovereignty.

The Chinese coast guard stated the Philippine vessels “trespassed” into what it stated had been Chinese waters “without authorization” in spite of repeated radio warnings, prompting its ships to forestall them. It blamed the Philippine vessels for inflicting the collisions.

“The Philippine side’s behavior 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 process drive stated 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 global rules that intention to forestall sea collisions, stated the Philippine process drive, which incorporates the rustic’s protection and international affairs departments, the army, nationwide safety council and the coast guard.

Near-collisions have took place continuously as Philippine vessels often ship provides to Filipino marines and sailors stationed at the disputed shoal. But this used to be the primary time Philippine officers have reported their nation’s vessels being hit by China’s ships.

In the primary incident that took place Sunday morning, “dangerous blocking maneuvers of China coast guard vessel 5203 caused it to collide with the Armed Forces of the Philippines-contracted indigenous resupply boat Unaiza May 2,” the duty drive remark stated. It stated the “provocative, irresponsible, and illegal action” of the Chinese coast guard ship “imperiled the safety of the crew.”

The Chinese coast guard gave a different version and said the Philippine supply boat deliberately crossed the bow of its ship, which was on a routine law enforcement patrol, “resulting in a slight collision.”

Separately, Philippine coast guard ship BRP Cabra’s left side “was bumped by Chinese maritime militia vessel 00003 while it was lying to” northeast of the Second Thomas Shoal, the remark stated.

The Chinese coast guard stated the Philippine ship “deliberately provoked trouble” by reversing its route, inflicting its stern to collide with the Chinese vessel and “heating up the situation at the scene.”

Despite the Chinese coast guard blockade, one of the two Philippine navy-manned boats managed to maneuver past the Chinese vessels and deliver supplies to the small contingent stationed on board a long-marooned but still actively commissioned warship, the BRP Sierra Madre, the task force said.

It was the latest flare-up in long-simmering territorial disputes in the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest trade routes. The conflicts, which involve China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei, are regarded as a potential flashpoint and have become a delicate fault line in U.S.-China rivalry in the region.

In early August, a Chinese coast guard ship used a water cannon against one of two Philippine supply boats to prevent it from approaching Second Thomas Shoal. The move, which was caught on video, outraged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and prompted the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila to summon the Chinese ambassador to convey a strongly worded protest.

Washington reacted by renewing a warning that it is obligated to defend the Philippines as a treaty ally.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry accused Washington of “threatening China” by elevating the potential for activating the U.S.-Philippine mutual protection treaty. Beijing has again and again warned the U.S. to not meddle in regional territorial disputes.

Later in August, the Philippines again deployed two boats that got past the Chinese coast guard blockade and delivered supplies to the Filipino forces at Second Thomas Shoal. Two Philippine coast guard ships escorting the supply boats, however, were prevented by Chinese coast guard ships from maneuvering closer to the shoal. A U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft flew in circles in support of the Philippine vessels as the standoff continued for more than three hours.

A 2016 arbitration ruling set up under the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea invalidated Beijing’s claims on historical grounds to virtually the entire South China Sea. China refused to participate in the arbitration sought by the Philippines, rejected the decision and continues to defy it.

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Associated Press journalist Huizhong Wu contributed to this document from Bangkok.