China’s coast guard reports third collision with Philippines this week | Today’s news
China’s coast guard clashed with the Philippines for the third time this week in the South China Sea as tensions escalate in the disputed waters.
China’s coast guard on Friday took “control measures” on several Philippine vessels conducting “illegal activities” in Scarborough Shoal, according to a statement from the force. She did not specify the measures taken.
The Philippine Coast Guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident, which marks the second day of skirmishes in Scarborough Shoal. On Thursday, Manila said a Chinese coast guard vessel fired a water cannon at a Philippine vessel for more than two minutes on the disputed shoal.
Amid the tensions, the US Seventh Fleet on Friday released a photo on X of the George Washington Strike Group of ships sailing through the Luzon Strait to conduct operations in the South China Sea.
Meanwhile, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump late Thursday, who Manila said assured Marcos that he would address Manila’s concerns when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Scarborough Shoal incidents occurred after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Philippine Foreign Minister Ma. Theresa Lazaro met on Wednesday, where they exchanged strong protests in their first sit-down since 2024. Wang warned at the meeting that bilateral relations were “at a crossroads and it is up to the Philippines to make the right and rational choice.”
Tensions were already high earlier this week after the Philippines accused Chinese coast guard personnel of aggressively striking and injuring a navy soldier with a wooden baton at Second Thomas Shoal.
China took effective control of the Scarborough Shoal, which it calls Huangyan Island, and its adjacent waters after a dispute with the Philippines in 2012. Beijing has created artificial islands and built buildings in the disputed waters in an attempt to assert its extensive claims to the South China Sea, which were rejected by a 2016 international tribunal ruling.
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