South China Sea: Philippines accuses China coastguard of ‘reckless’ action after collision

Philippines spokesperson says Chinese vessel carried out ‘dangerous manoeuvres’ during mission to resupply military outpost

The Philippines has accused China’s coastguard of “reckless and illegal actions” that resulted in a collision that caused minor structural damage to one of its vessels in the fiercely disputed South China Sea.

Jay Tarriela, Philippine coastguard (PCG) spokesperson, said on social media that its vessels had “faced dangerous manoeuvres and blocking” from Chinese coastguard and Chinese maritime militia as they supported a resupply mission to military troops. This led to a collision that caused “minor structural damage to the PCG vessel”, he said in a statement on X.