On Saturday, August 31st, a collision occurred between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, marking the latest incident in the ongoing series of conflicts escalating tensions in the region. In response to the collision, the Philippine Coast Guard emphasized that they will not withdraw the deployment of their ships in the Fiery Cross Reef area of the South China Sea despite Chinese intimidation.
The spokesperson for the Chinese Coast Guard, Liu Dejun, on August 31st, accused the Philippines of being responsible for the collision incident. The Philippines’ “illegally detained” vessel, identified as 9701 at Sabina Shoal, allegedly intentionally collided with the Chinese Coast Guard vessel 5205 in an unprofessional and dangerous manner, resulting in the collision for which the responsibility lies solely with the Philippines.
On the same day, Jay Tarriela, spokesperson for the Philippine Coast Guard, refuted these claims during a press conference by playing a video of the conflict. Tarriela explained that multiple Chinese government and militia vessels surrounded the BRP Teresa Magbanua (also known as the Chinese Coast Guard vessel 9701), with the Chinese vessel 5205 striking the left bow of the Magbanua and repeatedly ramming it, causing damage and multiple holes in the Philippine ship, fortunately with no injuries.
He emphasized that the responsibility of the Philippine Coast Guard is to carry out coastal defense operations, stating that even with continuous Chinese harassment, bullying, and escalation of tensions, “we have no reason to withdraw the Magbanua or any other vessel.”
The Philippine landing ship, BRP Sierra Madre, also released related videos on the social platform X.
Tarriela further mentioned that initially the Magbanua was surrounded by numerous Chinese naval and militia vessels, with the incident taking place in different areas near where the Philippine Coast Guard ships were anchored.
A South China Sea watcher named Duan Dang, based in Vietnam, also posted relevant images on X and questioned, “Why did the Chinese People’s Liberation Army send two 837 type tugboats to Sabina Shoal? They may be preparing to destroy the Magbanua and tow it away.”
The Magbanua was re-anchored at another location in Sabina Shoal at 2:59 pm on the same day, where the Philippine navy will assess the damage to determine its seaworthiness.
Measuring 97 meters (320 feet) in length, the Magbanua is one of the largest cutters in the Philippine Coast Guard fleet.
This collision near Sabina Shoal marks the fifth sea clash between the two countries in the span of a month.
Sabina Shoal is approximately 75 nautical miles from Palawan Island in the Philippines, and the Philippines claims it falls within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Tarriela speculated that China intends to establish a “Forward Deployment Base” at Sabina Shoal. Since the deployment of the Magbanua to Sabina Shoal by the Philippines on April 15th, China has continuously stirred up trouble, even going through diplomatic channels to demand the withdrawal of the Philippine ship.