The US has deployed two warships to a disputed area of the South China Sea after two Chinese ships collided while chasing a smaller Philippine boat.
Astonishing footage shows the crash on the high seas near the Scarborough Shoal, which Australia criticised as “dangerous and unprofessional conduct”.
A Chinese navy destroyer and Chinese coast guard ship collided while trying to block and drive away the Philippine coast guard ship, the BRP Suluan, about 19 kilometres from Scarborough.
The Chinese coast guard ship can be seen blasting its powerful water cannon, with Chinese personnel standing at the bow, shortly before it slammed into the fast-turning Chinese navy ship.
Shortly after the collision, the video shows the heavily shattered bow of the Chinese coast guard ship.
The Chinese navy ship sustained deep dents and what appeared to be linear gashes on its hull.
Both China and the Philippines claim Scarborough Shoal and other outcroppings in the South China Sea.
Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay overlapping claims in the contested waters.
Australia’s embassy in the Philippines responded to the incident:
“Australia is seriously concerned by the dangerous and unprofessional conduct of Chinese vessels near Scarborough Shoal involving the Philippine Coast Guard,” it said.
“This incident highlights the need for de-escalation, restraint and respect for international law, particularly UNCLOS.”
On Thursday (Australian time, the USS Higgins, a guided missile destroyer, and USS Cincinnati, a littoral combat ship, were sent to the location.
They were shadowed by a Chinese navy ship while sailing about 55 kilometres from the Scarborough Shoal.
There were no reports of any untoward incident, Philippine coast guard Commodore Jay Tarriela said, citing information from US officials and a Philippine surveillance flight.
The US navy has staged what it calls freedom-of-navigation voyages and overflights in the South China Sea for years to challenge China’s restrictions and its demand for entry notifications in virtually the entire stretch of the disputed waters that it claims.
That has angered China and its forces have had close runs-in with US warships and aircraft on such patrols in international waters and airspace.
The deployment happened after US ambassador to the Phillipines MaryKay Carlson on Tuesday condemned “the latest reckless action by China directed against a Philippine vessel” in Scarborough.
The rich fishing atoll off the north-western Philippines has been the scene of increasingly tense confrontations between the Chinese and Philippine coast guard, fishing and other ships in recent years.
The Philippines is the US’s oldest treaty ally in Asia.
The US has repeatedly warned that it is obligated to defend the Philippines if Filipino forces come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.
Japan, Australia and New Zealand expressed alarm over the dangerous manoeuvres that led to the collision in the busy waters, a key global trade route.
“Japan upholds the rule of law and opposes any actions which increase tensions. Our concern goes to the repeated actions in the South China Sea,” Japanese ambassador to Manila Endo Kazuya said in a post on X.
Tarriela said he hoped China would learn from the incident.
“For so many years, we have been reminding them to stop dangerous manoeuvres, to stop risky blockings, to adhere to the [anti-]collision regulations because if there is a very high chance of miscalculation, this kind of collision incident would happen.”
Tarriela spoke a few hours after a Chinese fighter jet flew as close as 150 metres to try to drive away a Philippine coast guard plane on a surveillance flight on Wednesday over the Scarborough with invited journalists on board.
The Chinese jet carried out dangerous manoeuvres for about 20 minutes, including flying about 60 metres above the small Philippine aircraft, Tarriela said.
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