Mayhem ensued on the high seas on Monday when two Chinese military vessels collided. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) shared dramatic video footage of the incident, in which a Chinese Navy warship accidentally smashed into its own Coast Guard boat during a high-speed chase in the South China Sea. Both vessels were reportedly in pursuit of a nearby PCG patrol boat, which was one of several ships escorting local fishermen into the waters surrounding the disputed Scarborough Shoal. The Chinese coast guard ship executed what officials in Manila described as a “risky maneuver” in an attempt to chase their Philippine counterparts, leading the craft to crash into a nearby Chinese warship’s foredeck. According to PCG Commodore Jay Tarriela, the accident created “substantial damage” that rendered the warship “unseaworthy.” So far, no injuries have been reported. In a brief statement, Chinese officials confirmed that a confrontation occurred when they accused the Philippines of “forcibly intruding” into its waters; they did not, however, mention the collision. Monday’s face-off is the latest in a series of maritime skirmishes between Beijing and Manila over the past two years, as both governments seek to enforce their claims on the disputed territory.
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