China coastguard vessel rams Philippines resupply boat

The incident occurred near Second Thomas Shoal in the contested Spratly Islands, where Beijing deploys hundreds of vessels.

Chinese coast guard ships in August corral a Philippine civilian boat delivering supplies to the Sierra Madre in the disputed South China Sea. Picture: AFP

The Philippines accused a Chinese coastguard vessel of colliding on Sunday with a Philippine resupply boat as it travelled to a tiny garrison in the disputed South China Sea.

The incident occurred near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, a hotly contested region where Beijing deploys hundreds of vessels to assert its claims over almost the entire sea.

A Philippine government taskforce said the “dangerous blocking manoeuvres of China Coast Guard vessel 5203 caused it to collide with the Armed ­Forces of The Philippines-­contracted indigenous resupply boat” about 25km from Second Thomas Shoal.

In another incident, a Philippine coastguard vessel escorting the routine resupply mission was “bumped” by what the taskforce described as a “Chinese Maritime Militia vessel”.

“The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea condemns in the strongest degree the latest dangerous, irresponsible and illegal actions of the CCG and the Chinese Maritime Militia done this morning,” it said. It said the “provocative, irresponsible and illegal action” of the Chinese coastguard boat had endangered the safety of the crew on board the supply boat.

A second resupply boat was able to reach the grounded BRP Sierra Madre and “successfully resupply our troops and personnel stationed there”.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, and has ignored an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

Second Thomas Shoal is 200km from the western Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 1000km from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan island. The Philippine Navy deliberately grounded the World War II-era BRP Sierra Madre on the shoal in 1999 to check China’s advance in the waters.

Tensions between Manila and Beijing flared in August when China Coast Guard vessels used water cannon against a Philippine resupply mission.

AFP