A CHINESE COAST GUARD ship collided with a Philippine fishery bureau vessel in the waters off Thitu Island in the contested South China Sea on Sunday, Manila’s coast guard said.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Chinese coast guard and maritime militia vessels carried out “dangerous and provocative maneuvers” against Philippine government ships near Thitu Island, where Manila keeps a military outpost in the disputed Spratly Islands.
Shortly after, a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel fired a water cannon at the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ (BFAR) BRP Datu Pagbuaya before ramming it, causing minor structural damage but no injuries, the PCG said.
“The harassment we faced today only strengthens our resolve,” PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil L. Gavan said in the statement. “Filipino fisherfolk depend on these waters, and neither water cannons nor ramming will deter us.”
Manila’s National Maritime Council said Chinese maritime forces conducted “illegal and reckless actions.”
The incident caused minor structural damage to the Philippine ship but no injuries, it said, adding that it would take diplomatic action in response.
“The proximity of CCG’s illegal and reckless actions to Pag-asa Island is of grave concern to the Philippines,” it said in a statement.
US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay L. Carlson condemned the incident in a post on social media platform X, describing it as a “dangerous ramming” and “aggressive actions” by Beijing that violate international law.
A CCG official said its vessel took “necessary control measures” to expel Philippine ships that it accused of intruding into waters of the disputed Sandy Cay that lies near Thitu Island, adding that its actions were “legitimate and lawful.”
“The responsibility lies entirely with the Philippine side,” CCG spokesman Liu Dejun said, based on a state-run China Military Online report.
Competing claims between the Philippines and China in the disputed waters have led to frequent confrontations involving repeated use of water cannons and sideswiping maneuvers against Philippine ships.
‘BULLYING TACTICS’Beijing claims nearly all of the South China Sea via a U-shaped, 1940s nine-dash line map that overlaps with the exclusive waters of the Philippines and neighbors like Vietnam and Malaysia despite a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that voided its claims.
“Despite these bullying tactics and aggressive actions, the PCG and BFAR remain resolute. We will not be intimidated or driven away,” Manila’s coast guard said.
Thitu, which the Philippines calls Pag-asa, is part of the resource-rich Spratly Islands. It is about 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) from China’s air and naval base at Subi Reef. The island is the largest of the Philippine-occupied islands in Spratlys and is the only one with a permanent civilian settlement.
“Our presence in the Kalayaan Island Group is crucial for protecting the rights and livelihoods of Filipino fishermen,” it added, referring to the Philippine name for parts of the Spratly Islands claimed by Manila.
The Philippine government earlier this year launched a program aimed at sustaining the presence of Filipino fishers near contested areas in the country’s western seaboard, which have become flashpoints amid China’s increasingly assertive claims over the South China Sea.
The PCG and BFAR resupplied Filipino fishermen operating near disputed maritime features in the South China Sea on Oct. 8, defying heightened Chinese presence in the contested waters.
In a statement on Wednesday, the coast guard said it had delivered thousands of liters worth of fuel, tons of crushed ice and hundreds of food packs to fishermen off Scarborough and Sabina shoals, despite what it described as “aggressive actions” by Chinese vessels.
Access to Scarborough Shoal has been restricted for Filipinos after China seized control of the atoll in 2012 following a standoff with Philippines forces. It is a vast fishing lagoon that lies within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
Philippine Coast Guard said it deployed the 96.6-meter BRP Teresa Magbanua, its biggest multi-role ship, and the 44-meter patrol ship BRP Cape San Agustin to Scarborough Shoal to support six BFAR vessels that distributed aid to Filipino fishing boats.
Manila’s coast guard said it monitored seven China Coast Guard ships and 10 Chinese militia vessels in the disputed feature, with a Chinese Navy ship issuing a radio warning of a live-five exercise near the Philippine resupply point.
Philippine authorities also distributed about 48,000 liters of fuel to more than 35 fishing boats at Sabina Shoal within the heavily contested Spratly Islands, which are claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam aside from China.
The PCG deployed its second 96.6-meter multi-role ship BRP Melchora Aquino and the 44-meter patrol ship BRP Cabra to Sabina, where it accused a Chinese military helicopter of intimidating the Filipino fishing party by performing “low-altitude monitoring flights.”
Manila’s fishery bureau sent five ships to the disputed shoal, where eight Chinese Coast Guard ships and nine militia vessels were observed during the resupply mission, the PCG said.
The Marcos administration has recalibrated the Philippines’ South China Sea strategy, deepening security ties with allies and launching missions to support fishers in contested waters, all while pursuing upgrades to the country’s aging fleet. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio