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| Courtesy of Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard Spokesperson |
A dramatic collision between two Chinese vessels in the contested South China Sea has been caught on camera, highlighting the dangerous brinkmanship that has become routine in the region’s disputed waters.
Video released Monday by the Philippine Coast Guard shows a Chinese Navy warship and a China Coast Guard cutter slamming into each other at high speed while pursuing a Philippine patrol ship near the hotly contested Scarborough Shoal.
The Chase That Ended in a Crash
The footage, shared by Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela, shows China Coast Guard vessel 3104 racing after the Philippine patrol ship BRP Suluan roughly 11 nautical miles east of Scarborough Shoal — a chain of reefs and rocks claimed by both Manila and Beijing.
As the Chinese cutter closed in, blasting powerful water cannon bursts toward the Philippine vessel, a much larger Chinese Navy destroyer unexpectedly maneuvered across its path. The smaller coast guard vessel smashed into the warship’s hull in a violent collision.
The impact tore into both vessels, leaving visible damage to their hulls. According to Tarriela, the Chinese cutter’s forecastle sustained such significant structural damage that it was rendered unseaworthy.
Philippine Offer of Aid
Moments before the crash, a few Chinese sailors could be seen standing on the cutter’s bow. It remains unclear how many were injured in the impact, but Tarriela said the Philippine Coast Guard immediately offered to assist in recovering any crew overboard and to provide medical aid.
In a statement on social media, Tarriela condemned the “risky maneuver” that led to the collision and reiterated Manila’s calls for China to follow international collision-avoidance regulations.
“We have also emphasized that such reckless behavior at sea could ultimately lead to accidents,” he said. “Our thoughts are with the CCG personnel who may have been injured in this incident.”
Manila’s Sharp Rebuke
The Philippine Department of National Defense issued an even stronger statement, denouncing the collision as “atrocious and inane behavior” by Chinese forces.
This is not the first time Manila has accused the Chinese Coast Guard of dangerous tactics. In recent years, Philippine officials have documented repeated incidents of Chinese vessels shadowing, blocking, and even ramming Philippine ships operating within what Manila considers its exclusive economic zone.
Beijing’s Silence and Deflection
Beijing’s embassy in Washington did not respond to media requests for comment. During Monday’s Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs briefing, the spokesperson did not address the collision directly. Instead, they accused the Philippines of “infringing on Chinese sovereignty” and defended the use of water cannons against the BRP Suluan as a lawful measure.
China claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea under its “nine-dash line” doctrine, which was declared illegal by an international tribunal in 2016 — a ruling Beijing has ignored.
A Flashpoint in Asia’s Maritime Disputes
The Scarborough Shoal — located about 120 nautical miles west of the Philippine island of Luzon — has long been a flashpoint between the two nations. China seized control of the shoal from the Philippines in 2012 after a prolonged standoff, and Chinese Coast Guard vessels have since maintained an almost constant presence there.
For Manila, Scarborough is within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, as recognized by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). For Beijing, it is “inherent Chinese territory.” This disagreement has fueled years of tense encounters between the two countries’ coast guard and navy forces.
A Growing Pattern of Dangerous Encounters
The Monday collision adds to a growing list of incidents in which Chinese Coast Guard ships have used aggressive tactics — including high-speed chases, close-range blocking maneuvers, ramming, and water cannon attacks — against Philippine vessels.
Security analysts warn that such confrontations carry an ever-present risk of escalation. A miscalculation, they say, could spark a diplomatic crisis or even a direct military clash in one of the world’s busiest and most strategically important waterways.
For now, the images of two Chinese vessels damaging each other in a chaotic chase underscore a dangerous reality: the South China Sea has become a theater where even rival forces from the same country can collide — literally — in the high-stakes contest for control.
