China accuses Philippines of ship collision near disputed shoal in South China Sea

China’s coast guard accused a Philippine ship of deliberately ramming one of its vessels on Tuesday near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. The Philippines denied it, saying China’s forces used powerful water cannons that damaged its ship and injured a crew member.

A Chinese coast guard statement said more than 10 Philippine government ships coming from various directions entered the waters around the shoal, which is called Huangyan Island in Chinese. It said it deployed water cannons against the vessels.

The encounter came six days after China announced it was designating part of Scarborough Shoal as a national nature reserve. The Philippine government, which calls the shoal Bajo de Masinloc, filed a diplomatic protest.

China and the Philippines have clashed repeatedly around outcroppings in the South China Sea, which China claims almost in its entirety. The two countries are among several that have competing claims to territory in the waters, which are of strategic importance and home to valuable fishing grounds.

The Philippine coast guard said two Chinese coast guard ships hit a Filipino fisheries vessel, the BRP Datu Gumbay Piang, with powerful water cannons for nearly 30 minutes “resulting in significant damage,” including in the captain’s cabin and the bridge. A glass window was shattered and injured a personnel while the deluge of water caused a short circuit that affected electrical outlets and five outdoor air-conditioning units, it said.

A Chinese navy warship also broadcast a radio notice “announcing live-fire exercises” at the shoal which caused panic among Filipino fishermen, said the Philippine coast guard.

The Philippine coast guard and fisheries ships were deployed to the shoal on Tuesday to provide fuel, water, ice and other aid to more than 35 fishing boats in the area.

In August, a Chinese navy ship collided with a Chinese coast guard vessel while the latter was chasing a patrol boat from the Philippines at high speed in the South China Sea, according to officials in Manila. 

And in September 2024, a CBS News “60 Minutes” crew witnessed an incident in which a Chinese coast guard vessel rammed into a Philippine coast guard ship that had deployed for a mission to resupply ships and stations in the South China Sea.  

The high-seas accident last month has raised concerns about maritime safety and questions about the extent to which the U.S. should involve itself in longstanding tensions between those countries.

Several friendly countries have backed the Philippines on the nature reserve.

A statement from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the Chinese action “yet another coercive move to advance sweeping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea at the expense of its neighbors.”

The U.K. and Australia also expressed concern, and the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines said it opposed attempts to use environmental protection as a way to take control over the disputed Scarborough Shoal.  

The Trump administration has supported the Philippines in its dispute with China. In March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the Philippines and he and Rubio have assured the Philippines that the U.S. commitment to the country’s defense remains iron-clad.