Philippines accuses Chinese ship of ramming government vessel

On Friday morning, a Chinese Coast Guard ship allegedly collided with a Philippine fisheries vessel in the contested Spratly Islands of the South China Sea. The Philippines accused the Chinese vessel of full responsibility for the incident, which occurred near a shoal in the disputed territory.

The Chinese coast guard, in response, claimed the Philippines bear responsibility for the collision, stating the Philippine vessel disregarded repeated warnings and deliberately changed course to cut across their ship. The incident took place approximately 10 meters from the Philippine fisheries boat, with the Chinese vessel striking it twice.

Nine minutes after the initial impact, the Chinese vessel repeated its maneuver, striking the Philippine vessel again. Video footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard showed the Chinese ship near the stern of the Philippine boat, as well as a crew member shouting "collision." However, no visible damage was shown in the footage.

China's coast guard spokesperson, Jiang Lue, warned the Philippines to cease all acts of infringement and provocation, threatening consequences if the violations continued. The Philippines and China have recently renewed their confrontations in the South China Sea, just as Manila hosted a gathering of ASEAN foreign ministers.