Chinese ships crash in chase with Filipino patrol boat in the South China Sea

A Chinese warship crashed into one of its own country’s coast guard vessels as it chased a patrol boat belonging to the Philippines, officials in Manila said Monday, after the latest territorial dispute in the South China Sea.

The dramatic collision near the Scarborough Shoal, a contested island, came as the Filipino vessel was delivering fuel and supplies to more than 30 fishing boats, the country’s coast guard said in a statement Monday.

Several videos posted on X by Jay Tarriela, a spokesperson for the Philippines Coast Guard, showed the Chinese ships on both sides of their coast guard vessel, traveling at quite a pace. In one of the videos, the warship bearing the number 164, came very close to the Filipino ship’s port side.

Another video showed the Chinese coast guard ship bearing the number 3104, appears to be bearing down on the back of the Filipino boat, when the warship appears from the left of shot in front.

Although the Chinese coast guard attempts to turn, it appears to smash into port side of its own country’s warship as the Filipino boat sails away.

It is unclear from the footage how much damage was done or if anyone was injured on the Chinese ships.

The Chinese Coast Guard acknowledged the confrontation with the Philippines in a statement Monday, but did not reference any collusion.

Instead, it accused the Philippines of “intruding into waters” under the “pretext” of supplies, near the island which it called China’s “inherent territory.” It said it had acted in a “professional, regulated and lawful” manner.

The Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs said in its statement that it was “seriously concerned” by China’s “dangerous maneuvers.”

The collision demonstrated the “importance of adhering to international maritime rules,” it said, adding that the crew of the patrols ship had “without hesitation offered medical aid and other relevant support to the Chinese side.”

It is unclear whether this offer was accepted.

Beijing claims sovereignty in over 80% of the South China Sea, energy-rich waters with estimated 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 11 billion barrels of oil below them.

In the last decade, China has been been actively building artificial islands in the region and added military bases, ports, and airstrips, drawing criticism from the Philippines and Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan, who also lay claim to parts of the South China Sea.

In 2016, an international court ruled overwhelmingly in favor of the Philippines, declaring that many of China’s claims and actions in the South China Sea violated international law and rights of the Philippines.

But there have been several maritime clashes since then, including an incident in December when Chinese ships fired water canons and rammed a Philippine patrol boat near Scarborough Shoal.