Chinese and Philippine ships collided on Monday during a standoff near disputed shores in the South China Sea, both countries said.
Both countries blamed each other for the incident near Sabina Shoal.
China and the Philippines have clashed several times in recent months over the critical waterway, including several years ago when a warship grounded a second Thomas Shoal, which Manila hosts a garrison. Beijing continues to assert its claims to almost the entire South China Sea, despite an international tribunal ruling that its claim has no legal basis.
Chinese Coast Guard spokesman Geng Yu said the Philippine ship “intentionally collided” with a Chinese ship early Monday.
“Philippine coast guard vessels … illegally entered the sea near Jianbin Reef in the Nansha Islands without permission from the Chinese government,” said Geng, using the Chinese names for Sabina Shoal and the Spratly Islands.
“The Chinese coast guard took control measures against Philippine vessels in accordance with the law,” Geng added.
Meanwhile, Manila’s National Task Force in the West Philippine Sea said two of its coast guard vessels were damaged in collisions with Chinese vessels conducting “illegal and aggressive maneuvers” near Sabina Shoal.
The collision resulted in structural damage to both vessels of the Philippine Coast Guard,” Manila said.
China claims the nearest large landmass, Sabina Shoal, 140 km (86 mi) west of the Philippine island of Palawan. It is about 1,000 km from China’s nearest large mainland, Hainan Island.
Manila and Beijing have stationed coast guard ships around the coast in recent months as the Philippines fears China is building an artificial island there.
Footage of the incident attributed to the Chinese Coast Guard and shared by state broadcaster CCTV showed a vessel identified by Beijing as a Philippine vessel running to the left of the Chinese vessel before moving off.
Another 15-second clip shows the Chinese vessel making contact with the stern of the Philippine vessel. Captions accompanying the footage say the Philippine vessel “suddenly changed direction” and caused the crash.
A Chinese coast guard spokesman accused the Philippine vessels of “acting unprofessionally and dangerously, resulting in a visual collision”.
“We strongly warn the Philippine side to immediately stop its aggression and provocations,” Keng said.
However, Manila blamed Beijing, along with National Security Council Director General Jonathan Malaya, who said the Philippines’ PRP Cape Engano had a 13cm (five-inch) hole in its right beam after “aggressive maneuvers” by China’s coast guard. A collision.
A second Philippine coast guard vessel, the BRP Bagacay, was “hit twice” by a Chinese coast guard vessel about 15 minutes later and suffered “minor structural damage,” Malaya said.
The Philippine crew was unharmed and continued their mission to resupply the Philippine-garrisoned islands in the Spratly group, he added.
The incident happened at 3.24am local time on Monday (1924 GMT Sunday), Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported. It also said a Philippine Coast Guard vessel entered the sea near Second Thomas Shoal around 6 a.m.
A series of skirmishes in the South China Sea have fueled concerns that Manila’s ally the United States could be drawn into a conflict as Beijing steps up efforts to push its claims in the sea.
Analysts say Beijing’s intention is to push from the neighboring Second Thomas Shoal toward Sabina Shoal, encroaching on Manila’s exclusive economic zone and normalizing Chinese control over the area.
The situation echoed in 2012 when Beijing took control of Scarborough Shoal, another strategic area of the South China Sea closest to the Philippines.
