China vessel rams Philippine boat on refueling mission, coast guard says

MANILA, Philippines — A China Coast Guard vessel rammed a Philippine boat on a resupply mission in the South China Sea on Friday, damaging its railings and deck structures but causing no injuries, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said, in the latest confrontation between the two countries in disputed waters. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel BRP Datu Magat Salamat was on a mission to distribute fuel to Filipino fishermen about 54 nautical miles off the coast of Palawan province when a China Coast Guard vessel carried out a series of dangerous maneuvers and made contact with the Philippine ship, the coast guard said. “The China Coast Guard deliberately rammed a civilian government vessel on a humanitarian and livelihood mission,” it said in a statement. Video released by the PCG showed crew members shouting “brace for impact!” moments before the collision, which took place at 11:13 a.m. (11:13 p.m. Thursday ET). Photographs taken after the impact showed bent and detached railings, damaged metal supports and debris scattered across the deck. The China Coast Guard said in a statement that it carried out law enforcement operations in the waters near Sabina Shoal on Friday, after the Philippine vessel “disregarded repeated solemn warnings, deliberately altered its course and suddenly accelerated to cut across the bow of our vessel.” It said the Chinese boat had operated professionally and that the blame for the collision lay with the Philippine side. In July, Manila accused Beijing of firing water cannon ‌at government vessels near the Scarborough Shoal and striking a Philippine Navy staff member on the head with a wooden baton during an encounter in the Second Thomas Shoal.