For more than a decade, the waters around the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea have been claimed by the Philippines, China, and Taiwan. In recent years, China has been particularly aggressive in asserting its claim.
Today, two Chinese ships, the China Coast Guard cutter 3104 and the Chinese Type 052D guided-missile destroyer Guilin, attempted to block the passage of the Philippine Coast Guard cutter, BRP Suluan. The Chinese seriously botched the maneuver.
The BRP Suluan and two other Philippine vessels were distributing aid to fishermen in the shoal when the two Chinese ships attempted to blockade the Suluan while firing water cannon. TWZ reports what transpired:
Videos published by the Philippine Coast Guard show the two Chinese vessels on either side of the Filipino ship, boxing it in. A short while later, the Chinese Coast Guard vessel CCG-3104 was chasing the BRP Suluan at high speed and trying to spray it with a water cannon. As it was about to overtake the Philippine cutter, CCG-3104 made a sharp turn to the starboard side. That’s when the Chinese Navy destroyer Guilin comes back into view, making a high-speed, perpendicular cross past the Suluan’s stern, slicing into the Chinese Coast Guard vessel CCG 3104’s bow as the Philippine crew cheers. Videos then show extensive damage to the Chinese Coast Guard vessel’s bow, while the Chinese destroyer had scraping on its port bow and along the port side.
Shooting water cannon and blocking ships are two of the prime methods China uses to exert its influence over Filipino vessels. It is unclear if anyone was hurt in the collision or the exact extent of the damage to either Chinese ship.