A Chinese warship rammed into its own coast guard vessel causing sailors to dive overboard.
The Philippines said their patrol boat was escorting fishing vessels as they handed out aid to fishermen in the disputed Scarborough Shoal, in the South China Sea.
Jay Tarriela, a spokesperson for the Philippine coast guard, also said Chinese patrols blocked them and fired a water cannon.
He wrote on X that the Chinese vessel ‘performed a risky manoeuvre’, causing a collision with the Chinese Navy warship and ‘substantial damage’ to the coastguard vessel.
He said the Philippine vessel immediately offered support, including assistance with recovering men overboard and medical aid for anybody injured.
China confirmed a confrontation took place and said the Philippines had ‘forcibly intrud[ed]’ into Chinese waters. It did not, however, mention the collision.
A Chinese Coastguard spokesperson, Gan Yu, said Chinese patrols ‘took all necessary measures, including tracking, monitoring, blocking, and controlling, to drive the Philippine vessels away’.
Beijing maintains that the area, which is one of the world’s busiest maritime routes, almost entirely belongs to China – despite an international ruling this has no legal basis.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said at a press conference that the Philippine vessels would ‘continue to be present’ in the disputed waterway to defend and exercise Manila’s rights over what it considers to be part of its territory.
The Scarborough Shoal, a chain of rocks and reefs, has been a point of tension between the countries since, in 2012, China seized it from the Philippines.
In recent months, hostilities between the two countries have repeatedly spiked over expanded Chinese territorial claims.
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