Chinese vessels collide while pursuing Philippine boat in South China Sea - Manila

A Chinese navy vessel collided with one from its own coastguard while chasing a Philippines patrol boat in the South China Sea on Monday, Manila said, releasing dramatic video footage of the confrontation.

The incident occurred near the contested Scarborough Shoal as the Philippine coastguard escorted boats distributing aid to fishermen in the area, spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a statement.

Video released by Manila showed a China Coast Guard ship and a much larger vessel bearing the number 164 on its hull colliding with a loud crash.

“The (China Coast Guard vessel) CCG 3104, which was chasing the ( Philippines coast guard vessel) BRP Suluan at high speed, performed a risky manoeuvre from the (Philippines) vessel’s starboard quarter, leading to the impact with the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) Navy warship,” Tarriela said.

“This resulted in substantial damage to the CCG vessel’s forecastle, rendering it unseaworthy,” he said.

Gan Yu, a Chinese coastguard spokesperson, confirmed that a Monday confrontation had taken place without mentioning the collision.

“The China Coast Guard took necessary measures in accordance with the law, including monitoring, pressing from the outside, blocking and controlling the Philippine vessels to drive them away,” he said in a statement.

The reported collision is the latest in a series of confrontations between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely despite an international ruling that the assertion has no legal basis.

More than 60% of global maritime trade passes through the disputed waterway.

Speaking at a morning news conference, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said the country’s patrol vessels would “continue to be present” in the area to defend, as well as exercise Manila’s sovereign rights over, what it considers to be part of its territory.

The Scarborough Shoal, a triangular chain of reefs and rocks, has been a flashpoint between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012.

It was unclear if anyone was hurt in Monday’s incident.

Tarriela told AFP the Chinese crew “never responded” to the Filipino ship’s offer of assistance.

Earlier in the confrontation, the BRP Suluan was “targeted with a water cannon” by the Chinese but “successfully” evaded it, Tarriela’s statement said.

- Agence France-Presse