Escalating Tensions: Philippines and China Exchange Accusations over 'Dangerous' Naval Encounters in the South China Sea

The Philippines and China engaged in a war of words on Sunday, with each side blaming the other for dangerous behavior and a collision in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. The incident is the latest in a series of maritime confrontations between the two countries that have raised tensions in the region.

In a statement released by X, spokesperson for the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) Jay Tarriela accused the Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia of harassing, blocking, and conducting dangerous maneuvers on Philippine civilian supply vessels. This was described as an attempt to illegally impede or obstruct a routine resupply and rotation mission to the Second Thomas Shoal.

In 1999, the Philippine navy ship BRP Sierra Madre was intentionally grounded at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands in the contested South China Sea to assert Manila's territorial claims.

Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images

Philippines accuses Chinese vessels of firing water cannon on ships resupplying South China Sea military outpost

The Philippine Coast Guard confirmed that two of its ships were damaged after being hit by water cannon fire. The Chinese Coast Guard asserted that the Philippine ships had unlawfully entered its waters, prompting them to take legal action against the vessels.

The Chinese Coast Guard stated that a Philippine vessel had ignored multiple warnings and intentionally swerved to collide with a Chinese boat in an unprofessional and dangerous manner. They placed the responsibility solely on the Philippines. The Philippines has stationed troops on the BRP Sierra Madre, a former US Navy ship grounded in 1999 at the Second Thomas Shoal. This area is known as Ayungin Shoal to Manila and Renai Reef to Beijing, and is a site of dispute between the two countries, leading to more frequent encounters in the contested waterway.

The statement issued by the Philippines on Sunday reported that a Philippine Coast Guard vessel had been towed back to Ulugan Bay on the island of Palawan, while another vessel sustained damage to its mast, the statement indicated.

Chinese Coast Guard boats near the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea in September, in a handout image released by the Philippine Coast Guard.

Philippine Coast Guard/Reuters

Another resupply vessel, the Unaizah Mae 1 (UM1), has successfully reached BRP Sierra Madre and continues to provide supplies, despite being rammed by a Chinese Coast Guard ship. "We condemn, once again, China's latest unprovoked acts of coercion and dangerous maneuvers against a legitimate and routine Philippine rotation and resupply mission," Tarriela stated, emphasizing that these actions have put the lives of Filipino personnel at risk.

In recent years, maritime disputes in the South China Sea have escalated as China becomes more assertive, militarizing disputed islands and challenging its regional rivals over their competing claims in the strategically important and resource-rich waterway.

Beijing asserts its "indisputable sovereignty" over nearly all of the 1.3 million square miles of the South China Sea, as well as the majority of the islands and sandbars within it, even those hundreds of miles from the Chinese mainland.

The waterway is vital to international trade and is also home to vast fertile fishing grounds upon which many lives and livelihoods depend.

With previous reporting from CNNs Kathleen Magramo.