By Jarvis Lee | 2025-09-03

A reckless Chinese pursuit of a Philippine vessel in August culminated in two Chinese ships crashing while the Philippine crew watched.

The incident occurred on August 11 as the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) escorted vessels delivering supplies and assistance to local fishermen near Scarborough Shoal. Dramatic video released by Manila showed China Coast Guard (CCG) ship 3104 firing a water cannon at the patrol vessel BRP Suluan before accelerating in pursuit.

Rash, possibly fatal pursuit

During the chase, the CCG vessel swerved to block the Philippine ship but instead slammed into the Chinese naval destroyer Guilin (hull number 164). The impact crushed the bow of the CCG ship, leaving it unseaworthy.

The incident "reportedly killed two CCG crew members," Philippine Senator Panfilo Lacson posted on X.

Those deaths are unconfirmed.

Chinese crew members were visible shortly before impact, but China did not respond when the Philippine ship offered assistance, PCG spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said.

The smaller Chinese vessel's "risky maneuver" led to the collision, he added. The BRP Suluan, while resupplying fishermen, was "targeted with a water cannon" but evaded it, he continued.

The Chinese vessels' actions "posed a grave danger" and caused the collision, the Philippine foreign ministry said on August 12, accusing them of "dangerous maneuvers" and "unlawful interference."

China has not acknowledged the collision. CCG spokesperson Gan Yu confirmed a confrontation but said only that China "took necessary measures … to drive the Philippine vessels away" and insisted Beijing was safeguarding the shoal, which it calls "Huangyan Dao."

Flashpoint since 2012

The Scarborough Shoal, a triangular chain of reefs and rocks about 120 nautical miles west of Luzon, has been a flashpoint since China seized control in 2012. Though a Hague tribunal ruled Beijing's claims over the South China Sea baseless in 2016, China has kept de facto control, stationing coast guard ships and blocking Filipino fishermen.

It has repeatedly clashed with its neighbors in maritime disputes, at times using water cannons or ramming foreign vessels.

Five days after the collision, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Jiang Bin instead accused Manila of provocation and said Beijing was ready to take "necessary countermeasures."

Rare role for Chinese navy

The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s role in the crash was striking, M. Reece Breaux, a researcher with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, wrote in the Diplomat.

PLAN warships "rarely engage directly in physical coercion"; they usually support coast guard ships and stay in the background. This case, he said, was notable for the navy's "highly unusual frontline involvement" in the PLA's so-called "maritime rights protection."

China likely deployed the Guilin to punish the Philippines for recent moves, including support for fishermen and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s remark that Manila cannot "stay out of" a Taiwan Strait conflict, wrote Breaux. The incident shows how China's "aggressive, unprofessional, and destabilizing" tactics could escalate quickly, he said.

Satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showed the CCG vessel under repair at Yulin naval base on Hainan island, Reuters reported August 27.

US Navy approaches site, rejects Chinese narrative

On August 13, the US destroyer USS Higgins and littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati approached the site. China later claimed the Higgins had "illegally intruded" into Scarborough Shoal waters and that its Southern Theater Command "warned and expelled" the ship.

But Sarah Merrill, spokeswoman for the US Seventh Fleet, debunked Beijing's statement: "China's statement about this mission is false … The United States is defending its right to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows, as the USS Higgins did here. Nothing China says otherwise will deter us."

Manila and Washington have a mutual defense treaty.

Reactions to crash

Commentators reacted with concern to the Chinese collision and its implications.

"In my view, the Chinese employing a destroyer to threaten to ram a Philippine vessel is already a significant escalation," Denny Roy of the East-West Center think tank in Hawaii told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Tensions in the South China Sea "powder keg" would have spiked immediately if either Chinese vessel had hit the Philippine ship, Su Tzu-yun, director of the Institute of National Defense Strategy and Resources at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told the Epoch Times.

"For nearly 11 years, Communist China has invariably engaged in maneuvers that violate international rules. This has now caused damage to its own ships, proving that its bullying tactics are wrong," he said.

Manila remains undeterred.

Following the incident, President Marcos stated that his country's patrol vessels would "continue to be present" in the area to defend and exercise Manila's sovereign rights.