Chinese vessel, Navy warship collide while chasing PH ship off West PH Sea

Metro Manila, Philippines - China’s Coast Guard (CCG) vessel and its navy ship collided off Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea as the vessel was chasing a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship.

In a social media post on Monday, Aug. 11, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Jay Tarriela said CCG vessel 3104 “performed a risky maneuver” to BRP Suluan, but it ended up crashing with the People's Liberation Army Navy warship.

“Sila mismo ang nagbanggaan at dahil dito, na-damage ‘yung unahang parte ng barko ng China Coast Guard,” Tarriela said in a virtual press briefing. “Although they attempted to do the blocking, dangerous maneuver, and even attempted to do water cannoning, I would like to attribute this to the good seamanship skills ng ating mga tropa [of our troops].”

[Translation: Chinese vessels collided and because of this, the forecastle of the China Coast Guard ship was damaged.]

He noted that the damage of the CCG vessel made it “unseaworthy.”

“On our part, we even extended our intention to support, man overboard, and even provide medical attention sa mga tropa nilang [to their troops who] we are anticipating na nagkaroon ng [to have suffered an] injury,” he said, adding that the Chinese did not respond to the offer.

Tarriela said Philippine vessels and troops were safe.

The spokesman said China has violated the collision regulation with its “dangerous maneuvers.”

The maritime accident happened as the PCG went offshore to provide support to 35 Filipino fishing vessels in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc through the Kadiwa Para sa Bagong Bayaning Mangingisda.