Chinese coast guard ship rammed into Philippine coast guard ship

Chinese and Philippine coast guard ships collided on Monday during a confrontation near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

The media reported on this.

The incident happened on August 19 during a Philippine resupply mission to a tiny garrison on Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.

Near the Sabina Shoal at about 3:23 am, the Chinese Coast Guard ship 21551 collided with the Philippine patrol ship BRP Bagacay. Both were damaged.

“The Philippine ship “ignored” multiple strong warnings from the Chinese and “deliberately collided with” a Chinese vessel in “an unprofessional, dangerous manner,” Beijing said, while releasing two videos showing the encounter.

Meanwhile, the Philippines said it had encountered “unlawful and aggressive maneuvers from Chinese coast guard vessels.” This resulted in “collision causing structural damage” to both Philippine coast guard vessels, National Security Council Assistant Director General said.

A Philippine national security official said that two ships had been damaged in the collision. However, the damage to the Chinese vessel is not known for certain.

The Philippine Coast Guard has released a photo of the patrol ship BRP Bagacay. The vessel suffered a hole in the starboard side above the waterline, about 45 centimeters long.

The incident site is located within the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive maritime zone. However, China also claims them, expressing claims to control more than 80% of the entire South China Sea.

In particular, Beijing considers the Sabina Shoal, which belongs to the Spratly Islands (Nánshā in Chinese), to be its territory. The islands are also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.

The islands and the Sabina Shoal are located more than 1,100 kilometers from China and 860 kilometers from the disputed Paracel Islands controlled by China.

The other day, the People’s Republic of China publicly called on the Philippine government to remove its coast guard ship from the disputed shoal.

In December last year, Chinese Coast Guard ships used water cannons against Philippine civilian vessels of the Bureau of Fisheries and Water Resources (BFAR).