China and Philippines trade blame over latest vessel collisions in disputed South China Sea

The Chinese and Philippine Coast Guards traded blame over the latest collisions involving their vessels in the disputed South China Sea on Saturday.

The Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) said a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship had “deliberately collided” with one of its vessels near the disputed Sabina Shoal, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

“At 12:06, the Philippine ship No. 9701 deliberately collided with the Chinese ship No. 5205, which was normally enforcing rights and law enforcement, in an unprofessional and dangerous manner, resulting in a collision. The responsibility lies entirely with the Philippines,” CCG spokesman Liu Dejun said on Saturday.

PCG spokesperson Jay Tarriela said the Chinese side had “deliberately rammed” a Philippines vessel.

“This afternoon, the Chinese Coast Guard vessel deliberately rammed and collided with the BRP Teresa Magbanua three times, despite no provocation from the Philippine Coast Guard,” he wrote in a post on X.

The dueling accounts come as Chinese and Philippine vessels have engaged in multiple collisions and face-offs over the past week near Sabina Shoal, also known as Xianbin Reef.

The disputed atoll lies just 86 miles from the Philippines’ west coast and 745 miles from China.

A spokesperson for the US State Department said it condemned China for “deliberately colliding three times” with the Philippine vessel.

“On multiple occasions throughout August 2024, (China) has aggressively disrupted lawful Philippine aerial and maritime operations in the South China Sea, including at Sabina Shoal,” said the spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

Miller added that the US called on China to comply with international law and “desist from dangerous and destabilizing conduct.”

China claims almost all of the South China Sea as its sovereign territory despite an international ruling to the contrary.

The escalation in tensions comes just weeks after Beijing and Manila struck a temporary deal to lower tensions that had been rising all summer at another nearby reef, where China’s increasingly aggressive tactics had raised alarm across the region as well as in Washington, a mutual defense ally of the Philippines.

With reporting by Nectar Gan and Brad Lendon.