The Philippines and China traded accusations on Monday after their vessels clashed at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. Manila said a Philippine sailor was injured, while Beijing claimed Philippine forces started the confrontation.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Chinese Coast Guard personnel struck a Philippine sailor on the head with a wooden baton during an encounter near the grounded BRP Sierra Madre, a warship that serves as Manila's military outpost on the shoal. The military said a Philippine navy rigid-hull inflatable boat was also damaged.
According to the AFP, a Chinese Coast Guard rigid-hull inflatable boat carrying eight personnel approached the grounded vessel and began taking photographs and filming. When two Philippine navy boats moved to drive the Chinese vessel away, the Chinese personnel allegedly "reacted violently and aggressively" by attacking Philippine sailors with a wooden baton.
Video released by the Philippine military appears to show a Chinese Coast Guard member striking a sailor aboard a nearby rubber boat.
China's Coast Guard rejected the allegations, accusing Philippine vessels of ignoring repeated warnings before approaching and ramming a Chinese patrol boat. Beijing said Philippine personnel were the first to attack, using paddles and wooden poles against Chinese officers, and maintained its forces responded with restraint and proportionate countermeasures.
A separate video released by China's state-backed Global Times showed officers from both sides confronting each other with paddles and batons while Chinese personnel repeatedly ordered the Philippine boats to leave the area.
The Philippine foreign ministry condemned what it described as an "act of violence" against its navy personnel, calling the incident unacceptable and saying it warranted diplomatic action. The military also urged China to end what it described as "illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions" in the West Philippine Sea, referring to the 2016 international arbitral ruling that rejected many of Beijing's expansive maritime claims.
Second Thomas Shoal lies within the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone but is also claimed by China, which refers to the feature as Ren'ai Reef. The area has become one of the most contentious flashpoints in the South China Sea, with repeated confrontations over Philippine resupply missions to the grounded warship.
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