Chinese Warship Collides With Own Coast Guard Ship While Trying To Ram Philippine Boat In South China Sea

In a moment of high-seas slapstick that Manila says it has on camera, a Chinese warship smashed straight into a Chinese coast guard vessel on Monday while both were trying and failing to catch a Philippine patrol boat near the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

Video released by the Philippine Coast Guard shows the China Coast Guard ship charging after the BRP Suluan at high speed, only to veer straight into the path of the much larger PLA Navy ship. The result was a deafening crash and a mangled bow that left the coast guard ship “unseaworthy".

“It was a risky manoeuvre that ended exactly as you’d expect,” the Philippines said, noting the Chinese had already tried and failed to soak the Suluan with a water cannon. Footage later showed the stricken CCG vessel limping in the water, its forecastle crumpled like a soda can.

China frequently uses ship-ramming as an intimidation tactic in the South China Sea, targeting vessels from the Philippines, Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian nations. The approach is meant to signal dominance and frighten others away from contested waters without firing a shot. Chinese coast guard and militia ships often accelerate toward foreign boats at close range, forcing dangerous evasive maneuvers.

Bizarrely, Chinese crew members in the bow section were visible moments before the collision but Beijing never acknowledged the crash, nor accepted Manila’s offer of medical assistance. Instead, China’s coast guard issued a statement claiming it had taken “necessary measures” to drive the Filipinos away, apparently omitting the part where it rammed itself.

The Scarborough Shoal has been a long-running flashpoint but Monday’s fiasco added an element of farce to China’s aggressive tactics. “They’re trying to intimidate us,” President Ferdinand Marcos said, “but we’re still here.”