Philippine Military Reports Chinese Forces Injured Sailor During Maritime Confrontation

MANILA: The Philippine military reported on Monday that members of the China Coast Guard injured a Filipino sailor during an encounter near a grounded vessel serving as a Philippine military garrison in the disputed South China Sea.

• China maintains claims over nearly the entire waterway, despite an international ruling finding no legal basis for its assertions.
• The Philippine defense department stated the encounter is part of a “clear pattern of provocative and hostile behavior” by the Chinese coast guard.

According to a Philippine military statement, a Chinese rigid-hull inflatable boat carrying eight personnel circled the BRP Sierra Madre, located at the contentious Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly archipelago, while recording video and taking photographs. The incident occurred shortly after the Philippine foreign ministry announced that top diplomats from both nations were scheduled to meet at a regional summit in Manila this week.

The statement noted that the confrontation escalated after two rubber boats were deployed to repel the Chinese vessel. “The Chinese coast guard personnel acted violently and aggressively, striking a Philippine Navy member in the head with a wooden baton, resulting in injury and causing damage to the Navy rubber boat,” the statement read.

The Philippine defense department issued a separate statement emphasizing that this incident reinforces a consistent pattern of hostile and provocative actions by the Chinese coast guard. The Chinese Embassy in Manila has not yet provided a comment regarding the incident.

This encounter follows a June 2024 incident where Chinese law enforcement, armed with various implements including knives and axes, attacked Filipino troops attempting a resupply mission to the Second Thomas Shoal. While both nations reached a provisional agreement regarding resupply missions to the Sierra Madre a month after that incident, tensions remain high. This latest maritime clash follows a recent diplomatic protest filed by Manila over “racist” depictions of the Philippines in Chinese state media.

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