Latest news with #disputedwaters
The Guardian
9 hours ago
- The Guardian
Chinese warship and coast guard vessels collide in South China Sea
Two Chinese vessels have collided with each other while chasing a ship from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in disputed waters in the South China Sea. 'A collision took place between China Coast Guard vessel 3104 and People's Liberation Army Navy ship 164,' the PCG said in a statement. The collision occurred near the disputed Scarborough Shoal.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Footage shows two Chinese ships colliding while chasing Philippine boat
A China coast guard ship barreled into a Chinese navy destroyer on Tuesday as the two vessels chased a Philippine coast guard ship in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. The collision, which left the smaller Chinese ship badly damaged, occurred as the Philippine patrol boats were escorting dozens of fishing vessels into the waters near Scarborough Shoal, a contested island that the Philippines calls Bajo de Masinloc, according to Jay Tarriela, a spokesperson for the Philippine coast guard. Chinese patrols blocked them and fired water cannons, Tarriela said. The China coast guard ship performed a 'risky maneuver' during a high-speed chase and crashed head-on into the Chinese warship, leaving the smaller ship 'unseaworthy,' Tarriela wrote on X. China accused the Philippines of ignoring its warnings and 'forcibly intruding' into waters near Scarborough Shoal, which Beijing calls Huangyan Dao, without mentioning the collision. Video of the incident posted by Tarriela shows the Chinese ship bearing down on a Philippine Coast Guard vessel while firing its water cannon before it is cut off by the larger destroyer, which crumpled the smaller ship's bow and ended the chase. The Chinese patrols 'took all necessary measures, including tracking, monitoring, blocking, and controlling, to drive the Philippine vessels away,' China coast guard spokesperson Gan Yu said in a statement Tuesday. Hostilities between the two countries have spiked repeatedly in recent months over China's assertion of its expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway claimed in part by six other governments. The Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally, has become more forceful in calling attention to alleged Chinese misbehavior as the number of Chinese vessels off the western coast of the Philippines has increased in the past year. The Chinese military buildup in the region has led the Philippines to work more closely with the United States and its allies and even to quietly expand security engagement with Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy Beijing claims as its own. Last week, China said that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was 'playing with fire' after he said, in an interview during a visit to India, that 'there is no way that the Philippines can stay out' of a war between China and Taiwan. Marcos responded on Monday that his remarks were 'misinterpreted' but that he was 'stating facts.' 'War over Taiwan will drag the Philippines kicking and screaming into the conflict,' he told a news briefing on Monday. Rudy Lu contributed to this report.
