China and US Ally in Maritime Confrontation Near Disputed Territory
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
China and the Philippines have traded salvos over a confrontation near the contested Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Philippine Coast Guard for comment outside of office hours.
Why It Matters
China claims sovereignty over nearly all islands and reefs in the South China Sea, citing historical rights. These claims overlap with those of several other countries in the region, including the United States' defense treaty ally, the Philippines.
Scarborough Shoal, known in the Philippines as Bajo de Masinloc and in China as Huangyan Island, is a rich fishing ground and a flashpoint in a territorial dispute that has intensified since 2023, as the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has challenged the expanding Chinese patrols within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.
Clashes have seen the Chinese side engage in ramming and deploying water cannons that damaged Philippine vessels and caused injuries.
A Chinese coast guard ship shadows the Philippine BRP Datu Tamblot near the Scarborough Shoal on February 15, 2024.
A Chinese coast guard ship shadows the Philippine BRP Datu Tamblot near the Scarborough Shoal on February 15, 2024.
Ted Aljibe/AFP via Getty Images
What To Know
Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account run by state broadcaster China Central Television, released footage on Wednesday showing a confrontation between the coast guards of the two countries at Scarborough Shoal the previous day.
The video accused the Philippine vessel, the BRP Teresa Magbanua, of "deliberately and dangerously" approaching its two Chinese counterparts, CCG-21550 and CCG-5009, and cutting across their bows at distances as close as 100 meters (328 feet).
"The Philippine vessel repeatedly made sharp turns at close range and sped up. Such provocative behavior was even more frequent this time than in the past," the video claimed, accusing the Southeast Asian nation of violating maritime law.
On July 15, PCG vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua, operating in the waters near the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, deliberately provoked the CCG vesels that were conducting rights protection and law enforcement operations in the area. pic.twitter.com/FhziRQomvk — SCS Probing Initiative (@SCS_PI) July 16, 2025
Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela refuted China's account of the incident on Thursday.
"BRP Teresa Magbanua was lawfully conducting a maritime patrol within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, as established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 arbitral award, to safeguard Filipino fishermen and uphold our sovereign rights in this part of the West Philippine Sea," Tarriela said, using Manila's term for the swath of South China Sea lying within the zone.
"In contrast, the China Coast Guard vessels were operating unlawfully in these waters, aggressively obstructing our navigation route by speeding up and dangerously crossing close to our vessel in an attempt to intimidate and harass our personnel," he added.
The official called the actions of the Chinese side "part of a recurring pattern of coercion."
The 2016 award he referenced was a Hague-based arbitral tribunal's decision that rejected China's sweeping South China Sea claims. Beijing refused to participate in the proceedings and maintains the award is invalid.
Scarborough Shoal lies about 140 miles west of the Philippines' populous Luzon Island and nearly 700 miles from China's southernmost province, Hainan. China seized effective control over the waters around the shoal in 2012, following a standoff after Philippine forces attempted to arrest Chinese fishermen.
What People Are Saying
The Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank's Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, in a June report: "Remote sensing data from the past ten months shows that China's presence has expanded to include additional patrols east of the feature aimed at intercepting Philippine ships, leading to frequent encounters between the two countries' law enforcement vessels."
What Happens Next
China is likely to continue sending its coast guard and naval ships into the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, in what analysts describe as an effort to gradually normalize its presence there.
The Marcos administration is expected to persist in shadowing Chinese vessels within the zone and publicizing their movements. The president has pledged not to cede "one square inch" of Philippine territory.
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