People’s Liberation Army Navy warships and China Coast Guard cutters fired water canons and rammed a Philippine maritime patrol near Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday in the latest spat between the two countries in the South China Sea.
Philippine Coast Guard flagship BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) and BRP Cabra (MRRV-4409) joined the Bureau of Aquatic Resources and Fisheries offshore vessels BRP Datu Pagbuaya (MMOV-3003) and BRP Datu Sanday (MMOV-3002) in a patrol to support fishermen in the vicinity of the disputed South China Sea maritime feature. Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard Spokesperson on West Philippine Sea Concerns, said in a statement that four China Coast Guard cutters with the pennants 5303, 3302, 3104, 3304 and the People’s Liberation Army Navy Type 054A frigates Xianning (500) and Yuncheng (571) met the combined civilian maritime agency mission.
Today, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) conducted a routine maritime patrol in the vicinity of Bajo De Masinloc to support Filipino fishermen actively engaged in fishing in the area. During this operation, our vessels… pic.twitter.com/fORLO6r3SD
— Jay Tarriela (@jaytaryela) December 4, 2024
The ensuing incident included what the China Coast Guard claimed were “control measures in accordance with the law and regulations.” At 06:30 and 16 nautical miles away from Scarborough, Chinese cutter 3302 sent a water cannon blast into Datu Pagbuaya’s navigational equipment and collided with the offshore vessel with a side-swipe maneuver against its starboard hull. A second water cannon burst was sent against the fisheries boat 25 minutes later.
Meanwhile, Tarriela claimed that flagship Teresa Magbanua endured “blocking, shadowing, and dangerous maneuvers” from the Chinese frigate Xianning and another cutter. Cabra was also shadowed by the Chinese forces, with a ship closing to within 300 yards of the Japanese-made patrol vessel.
The incident marks the largest encounter between Chinese and Philippine maritime forces since the Sabina Shoal Standoff, which saw both sides deploy their Coast Guards en masse. This is also the first publicly reported deployment of the agency’s flagship, Teresa Magbanua, in the South China Sea since its withdrawal from Sabina in mid-September. These deployments came after BRP Melchora Aquino (MRRV-9702) and BRP Cape Engaño (MRRV-4411) were dispatched to Iroquois Reef last week to protect Philippine fishermen from Chinese harassment. With these dual missions to Scarborough and Iroquois, the Philippine Coast Guard has at least four of its 13 ocean-going patrol vessels deployed in the disputed waters.
“The PCG and BFAR reaffirm their commitment to protecting the rights and safety of our fishermen within our maritime jurisdiction. We will continue to be vigilant in safeguarding our national interests in the West Philippine Sea,” Tarriela said.
Known to the Philippines as Bajo de Masinloc and to China as Huangyan Dao, Scarborough has been the site of numerous maritime and aerial encounters between the two countries. Despite its vicinity to Luzon, roughly 120 nautical miles from the Philippines’ largest island, Beijing has claimed the shoal under the expansive ten-dash line map. Chinese forces have maintained a presence within and around the maritime feature since the 2012 Standoff.
“China has cast itself as the legitimate law enforcement around Scarborough Shoal and the Philippine vessels as criminal trespassers,” Ray Powell, director of the SeaLight Project at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, stated as the reason why Chinese forces conducted themselves during Wednesday’s morning’s incident.
“As we have also observed recently at Second Thomas Shoal, Sabina Shoal and Iroquois Reef, this is the steely edge of Beijing’s aggressive lawfare to justify its maritime occupation of key West Philippine Sea features,” Powell said.
