For the past several years, Chinese Navy and Coast Guard ships have been harassing Philippine ships in the disputed waters of Scarborough Shoal, a hotly contested grouping of islets and reefs that lie in the northeastern end of the South China Sea. On Monday, these aggressive actions caught up with Beijing when one of its Navy guided missile destroyers collided with one of its Coast Guard cutters, likely rendering the cutter at least temporarily unseaworthy.

The badly damaged vessel had been chasing the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) cutter BRP Suluan on a resupply mission in the shoal at the time. The collision came during a period of particularly heightened geopolitical friction between China and the Philippines, primarily over Beijing’s widely rejected claims to virtually all of the South China Sea.

PCG personnel were distributing aid to fishermen in the shoal when the incident occurred approximately 10.5 nautical miles east of Bajo de Masinloc, a PCG spokesman said. Videos published by the PCG show the two Chinese vessels on either side of the Filipino ship, boxing it in. A short while later the Chinese Coast Guard vessel CCG-3104 was chasing the BRP Suluan at high speed and trying to spray it with a water cannon. As it was about to overtake the Philippine cutter, CCG-3104 made a sharp turn to the starboard side. That’s when the Chinese Navy Type 052D destroyer Guilin comes back into view, making a high-speed, perpendicular cross past the Suluan’s stern, slicing into the Chinese Coast Guard vessel CCG 3104’s bow as the Philippine crew cheers. Videos then show extensive damage to the Chinese Coast Guard vessel’s bow, while the Chinese destroyer had scraping on its port bow and along the port side.

Shooting water cannon and blocking ships are two of the prime methods China uses to exert its influence over Filipino vessels. It is unclear if anyone was hurt in the collision or the exact extent of the damage to either Chinese ship.

“The (China Coast Guard vessel) CCG 3104, which was chasing the (Filipino coast guard vessel) BRP Suluan at high speed, performed a risky maneuver from the (Philippine) vessel’s starboard quarter, leading to the impact with the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) Navy warship,” Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela said.

“This resulted in substantial damage to the CCG vessel’s forecastle, rendering it unseaworthy,” Tarriela added.

The Suluan, along with the BRP Teresa Magbanua and MV Pamamalakaya had been deployed to provide supplies to 35 Filipino fishing vessels in Bajo de Masinloc, Tarriela noted.

“During the operation, Philippine vessels and fishermen encountered hazardous maneuvers and blocking actions from other vessels in the vicinity,” Tarriela stated. “In particular, the MRRV 4406 was targeted with a water cannon, but the seamanship skills by PCG crew members allowed the vessel to successfully evade from getting hit.”

Following the collision, “the PCG immediately offered support, including assistance with man-overboard recovery and medical aid for any injured CCG crew members,” Tarriela added. “Meanwhile, the MRRV 9701 safely escorted the Filipino fishermen to a secure location, where they are now being provided with essential fuel and supplies.”

A Chinese Coast Guard spokesperson confirmed that a Monday confrontation had taken place without mentioning the collision.

“The China Coast Guard took necessary measures in accordance with the law, including monitoring, pressing from the outside, blocking and controlling the Philippine vessels to drive them away,” Gan Yu said in a statement. The Philippine boats were intercepted on Monday after they ignored warnings in an operation China’s Coast Guard said was “professional, standardised, legitimate and legal,” he added.

The last two years saw especially aggressive actions on the part of the Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia ships over Scarborough Shoal, which an international tribunal affirmed as belonging to the Philippines in 2016. Chinese authorities continue to ignore that ruling.

Earlier on Monday, the Philippine ABS-CBN media outlet showed a Chinese Coast Guard ship harassing another Philippine vessel, the BRP Datu Sumkad, with a water cannon.

Last week, another Chinese Coast Guard vessel was seen performing a dangerous maneuver in the area, cutting in front of a Philippine vessel.

Today’s collision was the latest in a long series of incidents in this area. In 2012, Filipino Navy ships moved to arrest Chinese fishermen illegally operating within the shoal’s lagoon, leading to a protracted standoff with Chinese “Marine Surveillance” vessels – now part of China’s Coast Guard – and elements of a paramilitary fishing fleet, which has since become commonly known as the “Little Blue Men.” The latter is a reference to the “Little Green Men,” a mix of Russian special operations forces and local proxies, who appeared in Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014 before Russia invaded and illegally annexed the peninsula.

The outcome of the standoff was embarrassing to the Philippines, which withdrew, effectively ceding control to the Chinese. Since then, China has continued to assert its authority over the area and routinely chases Filipino fishermen away.

In just one of many examples of these incidents, a Chinese Coast Guard ship fired a water cannon at a Philippine boat making a resupply run to the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era tanker that the Philippines purposely ran aground to maintain a constant presence in the region. You can see that encounter from March 2024 in the following video.

After the two Chinese ships collided, Filipino officials said they are not backing down from Beijing’s aggression in the region.

Philippine patrol vessels would “continue to be present” in the area to defend and exercise Manila’s sovereign rights over what it considers to be part of its territory, that nation’s President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said at a news conference on Monday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy has also experienced dangerous encounters with Chinese Navy vessels in this area. Control over these waters greatly affects the U.S. as well.

Full, uncontested control of Scarborough Shoal could give the Chinese a “strategic triangle,” with the other major points being Woody Island to the northwest in the Paracel Island chain and a cluster of outposts in the Spratly Islands to the south. Aircraft and ships operating from these islands, most of which are nearly entirely man-made, along with shore-based defenses, would offer overlapping coverage and present a major threat to any potential opponent trying to move through the region during a crisis.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com.