Philippine Coast Guard Ship Damaged after Collision with Chinese Coast Guard Vessel

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has reported that one of its boats has experienced minor structural damage. In the most recent confrontation in the much-disputed waters, Chinese vessels tried blocking a resupply mission in the South China Sea.

Video Credits: Guardian News

Jay Tarriela, the spokesperson associated with PCG, said that the incident occurred on Tuesday close to the Second Thomas Shoal, where a group of sailors were deployed on the Sierra Madre war vessel since it was grounded almost 25 years back.

He also shared photographs and videos on X that showed that a Chinese vessel was cutting across the Philippine resupply vessel’s bow, and the crew members were rushing to place a buoy between the vessels. The PCG vessels were alongside the resupply boats. The PCG vessels encountered dangerous manoeuvres, thereby blocking the vessels that belong to the Chinese Coast Guard and the Chinese Maritime Militia, Tarriela mentioned on X, adding that the resupply activity was continuing.

The reckless and unlawful activities resulted in a collision between Chinese Coast Guard 21555 and MRRV-4407, resulting in minor structural impairment to the PCG vessel. China’s Coast Guard mentioned that it had adopted some “regulatory actions” against the Philippine vessels in that area, accusing them of stepping into the waters illegally. Tensions in the South China Sea have been rising over the last year, with Manila repeatedly accusing Beijing of taking harmful actions against the boats and lodging several diplomatic protests.

Second Thomas Shoal, popularly known as the Anyungin Shoal in the Philippines and the Ren’ai Jiao in China, lies approximately 200km from the western Philippine island of Palawan and over 1,000 km from the southern Hainan Island of China. The Philippines is one of many Southeast Asian nations that claim portions of the South China Sea, whereas Beijing claims the waters in their entirety.

Back in 2012, China had seized control of the Scarborough Shoal following a months-long standoff. The Philippines has promptly taken the case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration located in The Hague, which discovered that the Chinese claims have zero legal basis. Beijing has hence ignored this ruling.

References: Times of India, Al Jazeera

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