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Fan Chen

China has lodged a formal protest with the Philippines, accusing it of initiating an attack on its coastguards following the latest clash between the two sides in the South China Sea.
Monday’s clash near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal involved a Chinese coastguard vessel and two Philippine Navy rubber dinghies.
The China Coast Guard said the Philippines had “illegally” launched the dinghies from the BRP Sierra Madre – an old warship that was intentionally grounded on the shoal in 1999 – then approached the Chinese vessel “in a dangerous manner” and rammed it from the front.
It accused the Philippine servicemen of “using tools such as oars and long sticks to maliciously attack Chinese law enforcement officers”.
The day after the incident, Beijing summoned Philippine ambassador Jaime FlorCruz and said Chinese law enforcement activities in the area were “reasonable and lawful”.
“The Philippine side initiated the provocation, yet they have turned around to falsely accuse China, distorting the facts and maliciously hyping up the incident,” the Chinese foreign ministry said.
The Philippines said it had launched the dinghies after the Chinese coastguards “unlawfully” approached the Sierra Madre, adding that they had injured one of the Philippine servicemen by hitting him on the head with a wooden baton.

The Chinese coastguard said it had allowed Manila to evacuate the injured man out of “humanitarian considerations”.
“[The coastguards] inquired and verified the Philippine boats and exercised full supervision throughout the process,” Jiang Lue, a spokesman for the force, said.
Jiang added that China would continue to conduct “rights-protection and law enforcement activities” near the shoal to “firmly safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests”.
The Chinese foreign ministry also demanded that the Philippines “immediately stop provocations and making trouble, and cease its propaganda and hype”.
Second Thomas Shoal, known as Renai Jiao in China and Ayungin Shoal in the Philippines, has long been a flashpoint between the two countries.
Since grounding the Sierra Madre to assert its claim over the reef, the Philippines has maintained a garrison of marines on board the vessel.
Beijing has repeatedly urged Manila to remove the vessel and has intercepted Philippine supply shipments to the reef, leading to a series of clashes.
The two countries reached a provisional arrangement at the Second Thomas Shoal in 2024 that would allow the Philippines to resupply the troops stationed there.
Lin Jian, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said on Tuesday that Beijing’s position “remains unchanged” and it would allow supplies to be delivered under Chinese supervision.
But he also repeated the long-standing demand to tow the ship away and said China would not allow permanent facilities to be built on the reef.

The latest incident drew sharp condemnation from the United States, an ally of Manila.
It criticised China’s actions as “dangerous and aggressive”, accusing it of undermining regional peace and stability despite its “repeated commitments to resolve disputes peacefully”.
This week Manila is hosting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers’ meeting, which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are also attending.
The State Department said Rubio would use the event to push for a “free and open Indo-Pacific”, a call echoed by Sergio Gor, the US ambassador to India and special envoy for South and Central Asia, when he met Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr on Tuesday.


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China lodges protest with Philippines after latest clash near Second Thomas Shoal

The Philippines said one of its servicemen was injured after being hit on the head with a baton. Photo: X.com/SCS_PI

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News

China

Diplomacy

Beijing summons the Philippine ambassador to complain about what it describes as a ‘malicious’ attack on its coastguards


Beijing summons the Philippine ambassador to complain about what it describes as a ‘malicious’ attack on its coastguards.


The Philippines

United States

Philippine Navy

China-Philippines relations

China lodges protest with Philippines after latest clash near Second Thomas Shoal

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Beijing summons the Philippine ambassador to complain about what it describes as a ‘malicious’ attack on its coastguards

Beijing summons the Philippine ambassador to complain about what it describes as a ‘malicious’ attack on its coastguards