Two Chinese ships collide after tailing Philippine patrol boat in South China Sea

A cat-and-mouse incident in the South China Sea resulted in a bizarre collision between two Chinese vessels while chasing a Philippine patrol boat.

The August 11 encounter appears to be the latest highlight in an increasingly confrontational relationship between Beijing and Manila, who are both eager to assert their sovereignty in the contested waters.

And while the two nations’ coast guards have had multiple stand-offs in the past decade, some analysts warn that the recent collision could have triggered a far more dangerous outcome in the Asia-Pacific region.

Bajo de Masinloc

The personnel of the 44.5-metre Parola-class boat of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) immediately offered medical aid to their Chinese counterparts upon witnessing a Chinese warship ripping off the bow of a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) cutter.

The two vessels were pursuing the PCG boat from different directions before the bigger destroyer inadvertently blocked the CCG vessel tailing the boat.

The destroyer, a 7,500-ton People’s Liberation Army Navy Type 052D guided-missile ship, sustained minimal damage from the incident.

However, the cutter took the brunt of the force, rendering it unseaworthy with major damage to its forecastles.

Two Chinese sailors were reported dead because of the collision.

The high-speed chase happened about 10.5 nautical miles east of Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc.

Despite Chinese control in the area since 2012, Scarborough Shoal is within Manila’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone – a major point of contention between the two countries.

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‘World-class seamanship’

Aside from condemning Beijing, the Philippine government praised its PCG personnel for successfully evading what it called “dangerous maneuvers” by Chinese vessels in the area.

“The Department is seriously concerned by the dangerous maneuvers of two vessels of the People’s Liberation Army Navy and the China Coast Guard and their unlawful interference with a routine humanitarian operation for Filipino fisherfolk in and around the territorial sea of Bajo de Masinloc,” read a statement by the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The DFA said that Manila remains committed to finding ways to “settle disputes peacefully”.

“Likewise, the Department would like to commend the calm professionalism and world-class seamanship of the men and women of the PCG, which remains steadfast in enforcing the country’s rights and entitlements in all its maritime zones,” the statement added.

In response, Beijing was adamant that Filipino presence in the area was nothing short of an aggression against China’s interests.

Lin Jian, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that by sending ships into the shoal, Manila’s actions “seriously infringe upon China’s sovereignty and rights, significantly threaten maritime peace and stability, and are of a grave nature.”

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Potential powder keg

For geopolitical experts, the crux of the matter is that two larger Chinese ships, one a thousand-ton warship, tried to ram a smaller Philippine boat – an act of armed attack, according to Manila’s interpretation.

Ray Powell, a South China Sea expert, said China’s “destroyer could have struck the much smaller Philippine Coast Guard ship instead – this would have almost certainly resulted in injury and death, even the sinking of the Philippine vessel”.

If that happened, Powell said it would be a serious escalation that would push the region to the brink of war.

“Could the Philippines afford not to call this an ‘armed attack’?” he questioned.

On the other hand, analyst Carl Schuster said that Beijing is deploying a new tactic, stating that the Chinese vessels “were trying a new, bold, and intricate maneuver against a clearly well-prepared Philippine crew without either of those prerequisites and paid the price for it”.

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America’s ‘ironclad’ commitment

Incapable of matching China militarily, the Philippines’ sole trump card is being a treaty ally of the United States.

Manila has proven itself to be a crucial piece in Washington’s alliance infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific, with its northern territories serving as one of the major components of the First Island Chain – a strategic geographical feature that would allow the US military to gain the upper hand against China should the latter attack Taiwan.

Under the 1951 defense treaty between the Philippines and the US, Washington is obligated to come to the aid of Manila if attacked by a foreign country.

In his visit to the Philippines this year, State Secretary Marco Rubio reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad commitment” to defending the islands, with his department further claiming that Beijing’s actions were “dangerous and destabilizing”.

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