By Robert Stanley | 2025-09-22

A Philippine fisheries bureau vessel sustained damage and a crew member was injured on September 16 after two China Coast Guard (CCG) ships fired water cannons at it near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. The vessel, the BRP Datu Gumbay Piang, was part of a government mission to escort more than 40 fishing boats in the area.

The shoal is also called Bajo de Masinloc.

CCG spokesman Gan Yu told Reuters that 10 Philippine government vessels "illegally invaded China's territorial waters ... from different directions," accusing the fisheries bureau ship of deliberately ramming a Chinese cutter.

Philippine officials rejected the account. The shoal lies within their country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the operation was humanitarian, supporting local fisherfolk, they said.

Manila debunks Chinese video 'evidence'

The CCG released about 40 seconds of footage, highlighting its radio warnings and the moment of scraping between the vessels.

Manila countered with almost two minutes of video showing sustained water cannon fire, obscured visibility from the bridge and Philippine ships being hemmed in on both sides. The blasts may even have pushed the smaller vessel off course, making a collision unavoidable, said officials.

The Philippine video begins with streams of high-pressure water striking the bridge windows of the Datu Gumbay Piang, obscuring the helmsman's view. After repeated blasts, the ship appeared to lose power and veered toward a CCG vessel that had crossed in front of its bow.

Moments later, the two ships scraped against each other. The next flash of video shows a sailor with a cut on his ear from flying glass entering the bridge, followed by scenes of shattered windows and flooding in the cabin.

"This aggressive action lasted for about 29 minutes, resulting in significant damage" to the ship's superstructure, said Commodore Jay Tarriela, spokesperson for the PCG's West Philippine Sea Transparency Group.

A crew member of the Philippine ship was injured by shattered glass, he said.

The barrage disabled the ship's electrical systems and multiple air-conditioning units, while flooding spread inside the cabin, the PCG said.

"The use of water cannons against a stationary BFAR [Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources] vessel, along with threats of live-fire exercises, constitutes harassment and is unlawful under our [EEZ] rights," said Tarriela.

Beijing's version of events is "another case of Chinese disinformation and propaganda," the Philippine Maritime Council said.

Outnumbered and outgunned

The incident underscored the force imbalance at sea.

Nine CCG cutters, five People's Liberation Army Navy warships and at least four maritime militia vessels were present near the shoal, confronting a Philippine flotilla of 10 BFAR vessels, two Coast Guard cutters and one civilian supply ship, Manila reported.

Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Año condemned the escalation. "This is the first time that this kind of ploy was done by the PRC [People's Republic of China] ... and it does actually put a lot of risk and danger to the lives of our fishermen and our BFAR vessels," Año said.

Escalation from repeated live-fire threats could cost lives, said Año.

"We will not play to their narrative. This is what they want, for us to overreact, and then they can have the justification to use their People's Liberation Army."

Manila refuses to back down

Undeterred by the incident, PCG and BFAR vowed to continue supporting fishing communities and protecting the country's maritime rights in the West Philippine Sea.

The confrontation came a week after Beijing announced plans to turn Scarborough Shoal into a "national nature reserve," which Philippine officials said was aimed at asserting sovereignty and barring Filipino fishing.

On September 16, a Chinese navy warship broadcast a notice of live-fire exercises in the same area, though no drills took place. The announcement appeared intended only to frighten Filipino fishermen operating nearby, said Tarriela.

Scarborough Shoal has long been a flashpoint in the South China Sea. China seized control of the area in 2012 after a prolonged standoff, but a 2016 tribunal ruling by The Hague rejected Beijing's sweeping claims and affirmed Filipino fisherfolk's right to fish in the shoal's traditional grounds.

China has refused to recognize the ruling.

The United States, European Union, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and United Kingdom condemned China's latest aggressive actions against the Philippines.