Chinese vessels collide while pursuing Filipino boat
The incident occurred near the contested Scarborough Shoal as the Philippine coast guard escorted boats distributing aid to fishermen in the area, according to Cdre Jay Tarriela, a Filipino spokesman.
Video released by Manila showed a China coast guard ship and a much larger navy vessel bearing the number 164 on its hull colliding with a loud crash.
Cdre Tarriela said: 'The CCG 3104 [China coast guard vessel], which was chasing the BRP Suluan [Filipino coast guard vessel] at high speed, performed a risky manoeuvre from the [Filipino] vessel's starboard quarter, leading to the impact with the PLA [People's Liberation Army] navy warships.
'This resulted in substantial damage to the CCG vessel's forecastle, rendering it unseaworthy.'
'Necessary measures'
Gan Yu, a Chinese coast guard spokesman, confirmed that a Monday confrontation had taken place without mentioning the collision.
He said: 'The China coast guard took necessary measures in accordance with the law, including monitoring, pressing from the outside, blocking and controlling the Philippine vessels to drive them away.'
The reported collision is the latest in a series of confrontations between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely despite an international ruling that the assertion has no legal basis.
More than 60 per cent of global maritime trade passes through the disputed waterway.
Ferdinand Marcos, the president of the Philippines, said the country's patrol vessels would 'continue to be present' in the area to defend, as well as exercise Manila's sovereign rights over, what it considers to be part of its territory.
The Scarborough Shoal – a triangular chain of reefs and rocks – has been a flashpoint between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012.
It was unclear if anyone was hurt in Monday's incident.
Cdre Tarriela told AFP that the Chinese crew 'never responded' to the Filipino ship's offer of assistance.
Earlier in the confrontation, the BRP Suluan was ' targeted with a water cannon ' by the Chinese but 'successfully' evaded it, according to Cdre Tarriela.
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