China has been doing its best to seize control of most of the South China Sea for years. In the past decade China has been particularly aggressive toward the Philippines because it is one of the only countries in the region willing to stand up to China. But it’s tricky for China facing off with the Philippines because they have a mutual defense pact with the US. What this means in practice is that China tries to be aggressive and to look tough but it also can’t cross the line into actually shooting at anyone because that would trigger a direct US response.
So what we’ve seen over the past several years is a lot of reckless showboarting using water cannons, lasers and even some intentional ramming of ships. For instance, this happened last May near Scarborough Shoal.
Philippines ship getting blasted by water cannons of China Coast Guard vessel near Scarborough Shoal, South China Sea.
Chinese appear to be aiming at tricolor Philippine flag & ship’s radar systems. pic.twitter.com/gWdAcBzPPE
— Clash Report (@clashreport) May 1, 2024
And this happened last December:
WATCH: This video shows a China Coast Guard ship ramming a Philippine fisheries vessel near Escoda Shoal on Wednesday morning, Dec. 4.
This incident is separate from an earlier confrontation that occurred the same day in Bajo de Masinloc. (🎥: PCG) pic.twitter.com/CblvBWPrm6
— Michael Delizo (@michael_delizo) December 4, 2024
China has been doing stuff like this so persistently that it’s not even surprising anymore. But today we’re seeing something that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. A Chinese Coast Guard vessel rammed into a ship from the Chinese Navy while pursuing a ship from the Philippines. Here’s the video of the collision shot by a journalist who was on the Philippines ship they were chasing.
My view of the collision at sea of China Coast Guard 3104 and PLA Navy 164 in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc in Zambales, Philippines.
Before this, the Chinese navy and coast guard ships nearly collided twice trying to outmaneuver BRP Suluan of the Philippine Coast Guard. pic.twitter.com/xePxkUn7oY— Raffy Tima (@raffytima) August 11, 2025
As you can see, he claims the same two ships had nearly collided twice before this happened. The Navy ship seemed to have some major dents but the Coast Guard Ship’s bow was crushed and it was no longer seaworthy.
More footage from the Philippine Coast Guard showing the extent of the damage to China Coast Guard (CCG-3104), after it collided with a Type 052D Destroyer of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (DDG-164) earlier today in the West Philippine Sea. pic.twitter.com/hzSjUP4ych
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) August 11, 2025
Here’s the BBC report on what happened. Notice that China’s official statement didn’t mention the collision at all. If there hadn’t been cameras on hand they probably would have denied the whole thing.
Philippine coast guard officials were distributing aid to fishermen in the disputed Scarborough Shoal, Commodore Jay Tarriela said, when the Chinese coast guard “performed a risky manoeuvre” which inflicted “substantial damage” on the Chinese warship’s forward deck.
China confirmed that a confrontation took place and accused the Philippines of “forcibly intruding” into Chinese waters, but did not mention the collision.
So far no one has said if anyone was hurt but I think it’s almost certain someone was. Watch the video again and you’ll see there were crewmen on the bow of the Coast Guard ship trying to set out fenders just before the collision.
China’s Navy ship, China Coastguard vessel collide while chasing after Philippines’ BRP Suluan near Bajo de Masinloc in Zambales pic.twitter.com/heWNkGMOsj
— Joseph Morong 🇵🇭 (@Joseph_Morong) August 11, 2025
Given that more than 10 feet of the bow was collapsed in the collision, I wonder if those crewmen survived. My guess is they did not. After the collision they are just gone. We may not ever hear that confirmed by the PLA Navy or the Coast Guard.
I also wonder who is going to be blamed for this. Clearly someone is responsible for doing a lot of damage to two very expensive ships. I’m not a professional sailor but it sure looks like the Navy ship cut off the Coast Guard ship leaving it no choice but a collision. Will both captains lose their jobs here?
Alternatively, did the Navy ship do this on purpose to prevent the Coast Guard ship from ramming the Philippines ship? Maybe someone decided things were out of control and the Coast Guard captain needed to be stopped before he created an incident China couldn’t walk back.
