Four injured in incident between Chinese, Philippine coast guards in South China Sea

Four Filipino crew members were injured on Tuesday March 5 in a collision with a Chinese coast guard boat, Manila announced.

The latter fired water cannons on a resupply mission in the South China Sea.

Philippine Coast Guard inspects the boat involved in a collision with Chinese Coast Guard in the South China Sea, March 5, 2024. via REUTERS - Philippine Coast Guard

By: RFI Follow

Advertisement

Read more

The Philippines accuses the Chinese coast guard of having carried out “ 

dangerous maneuvers

 ” in the South China Sea which caused a collision with a Philippine coast guard vessel, while it was carrying out a mission to resupply Philippine troops deployed in water.

Via the social network X (formerly Twitter), the spokesperson for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) declared that the ship had suffered minor structural damage:

“ 

Their irresponsible and illegal actions resulted in a collision

 ,” Jay Tarriela wrote of the Chinese coast guard, posting footage showing the incident between the two boats.

Two PCG ships were participating in a mission to resupply Filipino soldiers present aboard a warship anchored near Second Thomas Atoll since 1999, as part of Manila's territorial claims.

This morning, @coastguardph vessels, BRP CABRA and BRP SINDANGAN, were deployed by the Commander, CG Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, to support the Rotation and Reprovisioning Operation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.



Throughout the operation, the PCG vessels faced dangerous… pic.twitter.com/WsjnMnGSEk

— Jay Tarriela (@jaytaryela) March 5, 2024

Incidents multiply between the Philippines and China

For its part, the Chinese coast guard said the two Philippine boats illegally entered waters near the atoll, adding that they had no choice but to take control measures.

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including the Second Thomas Atoll, and carries out maritime patrols in the region.

Manila, which denounces a Chinese “ 

maritime militia

 ”, announced last December

the installation of a coast guard station on Thitu

, the largest of its islands in the South China Sea, in order to monitor ships sent by Beijing .

This latest incident comes on top of a

series of maritime altercations between the two countries

, engaged in a territorial dispute despite a ruling in 2016 by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, according to which China's claims do not have no legal basis.

Beijing rejected the UN court's decision.

While he said the Philippines would be cooperative in discussions with China, Philippine President

Ferdinand Marcos Jr

said Monday at a forum in Australia that his country would not remain passive if its sovereignty and maritime rights were being ignored.

Marking a shift from his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who had adopted a pro-China stance, Ferdinand Marcos Jr has in the past accused Beijing of aggression in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

Also listen to Beijing advancing its pawns in the China Sea

(

with Reuters

)

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your inbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

Share :

Continue reading on the same themes:

  • Philippines

  • China

  • Geopolitics

  • Ferdinand Marcos Jr.