China, Philippines Trade Blame Over Vessel Collision in Disputed South China Sea

MANILA, Sep 18: China and the Philippines traded accusations Friday over a fresh vessel collision in the disputed South China Sea, with both sides blaming each other for the incident.

The China Coast Guard (CCG) said a Philippine vessel “ignored repeated warnings and suddenly cut across a CCG boat’s bow near Xianbin Jiao, causing a collision,” the Beijing-based daily Global Times reported.

Xianbin Jiao, also known as Escoda or Sabina Shoal, is a disputed low-tide elevation atoll in the Spratly Islands.

China accused the Philippines of being “fully responsible” for the incident, saying the Philippine vessel’s actions “seriously violated international law and threatened the safety of CCG vessels.”

The CCG also urged Manila to “stop all acts of infringement and provocation,” warning that the Philippines “would bear the consequences.”

The Philippines gave a sharply different account of the incident.

Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said the Chinese vessel CCG-21585 “rammed BRP Datu Magat Salamat (MMOV 3015)” while the Philippine vessel was carrying out a maritime patrol mission to deliver a fuel subsidy to Filipino fishermen.

“Even after the collision, CCG-21585 conducted yet another dangerous maneuver, passing dead astern at a distance of only about 5 meters (16 feet),” Tarriela said in a statement posted on X.

Tarriela said the incident occurred off the coast of the Philippine province of Palawan, “well within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.”

“Let us be clear about what this vessel was doing: it was bringing fuel to Filipino fishermen so they can keep fishing in our own waters and keep food on Filipino tables,” Tarriela said.

He accused the China Coast Guard of deliberately ramming a civilian government vessel carrying out what he described as a humanitarian and livelihood mission, saying the maneuver endangered the lives of its Filipino crew.

The latest confrontation comes amid persistent tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, where the two countries have repeatedly confronted each other over competing territorial claims and maritime activities.

The accounts of the collision from the Chinese and Philippine sides could not be independently reconciled.