Photos Show Aftermath of US Ally’s Clash With China

The Philippines has released images of damage its vessels sustained during collisions with China Coast Guard ships on Monday in contested parts of the South China Sea.

Each side blames the other for the confrontation, which occurred early Monday morning near the Spratly Islands’ Sabina Shoal and within the U.S. ally’s exclusive economic zone. China and the Philippines have for weeks maintained a coast guard presence in what is effectively a standoff at the shoal, known in Manila as Escoda Shoal and in China as Xianbin Reef.

Philippine Coast Guard cutters the BRP Bagacay and BRP Cape Engano were en route to two of the Spratly Islands when they were intercepted by China Coast Guard ships that performed “dangerous” blocking maneuvers, according to a statement from the task force responsible for the West Philippine Sea, Manila’s term for the parts of the South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone.

“Aggressive maneuvers” by China Coast Guard ship CCGV 3104 about 20 miles southeast of Sabina Shoal led to a collision with the Cape Engano, it said, adding: “This resulted in a collision with the starboard beam of the vessel, creating a hole on the deck with an approximate diameter of 5 inches.”

Just 16 minutes later another Chinese vessel, CCGV 21551, rammed the Bagacay on both its starboard and port sides, causing “minor structural damage,” per the statement.

The Cape Engano was left with an approximately 3-foot gash on its starboard quarter, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said in an X post beside photos showing the damage being measured. An exhaust pipe also appears to have been damaged.

As for the Bagacay, a hole measuring 2.5 feet long and 3 feet wide was ripped into the ship close to the port auxiliary engine. The collision on its starboard side damaged 13 stanchion posts and left a 1 foot dent, Tarriela wrote.

The China Coast Guard released a pair of short videos of the moments leading up to collisions. The agency alleged that the Philippine ships had illegally intruded” into waters off Sabina Shoal and “ignored China’s repeated solemn warnings,” with the Bagacay then “deliberately” ramming into CCGV 4410.

The Chinese statement reiterated Beijing’s sovereignty claim over the entirety of the Spratly Islands and warned Manila to end its provocations or “bear all the consequences.”

China claims nearly the entire South China Sea as its territory, despite an international tribunal’s 2016 ruling largely dismissing its claims. In addition to the Philippines, these conflict with overlapping claims by Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Monday’s incident is the latest in a series of collisions that have occurred over the past year as the Philippines continues to challenge China’s increasingly assertive expansion into the Southeast Asian country’s exclusive economic zone.

The Philippine Coast Guard didn’t immediately respond to a written request for comment.