The Philippine Coast Guard reported that China Coast Guard vessel CCG-21585 collided with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ship BRP Datu Magat Salamat on Friday, September 18, roughly 54 nautical miles from Palawan province and just over six nautical miles from Sabina Shoal in the disputed Spratly Islands chain. According to the Philippine account, the Chinese vessel first cut across the stern of the BFAR ship at a distance of only about 10 meters, then made contact with it approximately nine minutes later while the Philippine vessel maintained its course, and later passed astern again at a distance of roughly 5 meters. The collision bent, broke, and detached starboard-side railings and deformed metal structures on the Philippine vessel, though no injuries to crew were reported. The BFAR ship had been on a resupply mission delivering fuel subsidies to Filipino fishermen operating in the area.
China’s account directly contradicts Manila’s version of events. Beijing’s Foreign Ministry, through spokesperson Guo Jiakun, said the collision occurred near what China calls Xianbin Jiao, and Chinese officials accused the Philippine vessel of having disregarded repeated warnings before deliberately altering course and accelerating to cut across the bow of the Chinese ship, placing responsibility for the incident on the Philippine side. The confrontation adds to a long pattern of close encounters between Philippine government vessels and Chinese coast guard ships in the resource-rich waters, which China claims in their near-entirety despite a 2016 international arbitral ruling rejecting the legal basis for that claim. The incident follows a Thursday grounding by the same Philippine vessel at nearby Hasa-Hasa Shoal, underscoring the operational risks facing Manila’s resupply missions to Filipino fishing crews in the contested waterway.
Source: The Maritime Executive — https://maritime-executive.com/article/chinese-coast-guard-vessel-hits-philippine-supply-boat-in-spratly-islands
Tags: South China Sea, Spratly Islands, Philippine Coast Guard, China Coast Guard
