The Philippine Coast Guard reports that a collision with a Chinese vessel damaged the ship

Manila: During a resupply trip to Filipino soldiers on a remote outpost in the South China Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard said that one of its ships was damaged in a collision with a China Coast Guard vessel on Tuesday.

This is the most recent incident in the seas around the Spratly Islands’ Second Thomas Shoal, where the two nations dispute each other’s maritime rights.

“Dangerous maneuvers and blocking” by the Chinese Coast Guard and other boats culminated in a collision that caused “minor structural damage to the PCG (Philippine Coast Guard) vessel,” according to a post made by Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela on social media site X.
The BRP Sindangan and a sister ship were sent to Second Thomas Shoal, where Filipino soldiers were stationed aboard a stranded Philippine naval vessel “to support” a military rotation and resupply operation.

Using the Chinese names for the shoal, China’s coast guard claimed it “took control measures” against Philippine ships’ “illegal intrusion” in the seas around Ren’ai Reef in China’s Nansha Islands.
China asserts its territorial claims over almost the whole South China Sea, dismissing rival assertions from several Southeast Asian countries and an international decision that deemed its position unfounded.
The incident occurred the day after Enrique Manalo, the foreign minister of the Philippines, justified Manila’s policy of drawing attention to Chinese maneuvers in the South China Sea by urging Beijing to “stop harassing us.”

When Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos made an appearance later on Monday night at an event organized by an Australian think group, he was just as direct.
He said, “We shall never surrender even a square inch of our territory and our maritime jurisdiction,” outside of the Melbourne Asian conference.
This collision was the second of its kind since Chinese ships fired water cannons at Philippine vessels in December.

Analysts at the time predicted that tensions would rise since those encounters between Chinese and Philippine warships were the most severe in years.
Under Marcos, who has worked to strengthen ties with Washington, a longtime friend, and expand defense cooperation in the area while simultaneously pushing back against Chinese moves in the South China Sea, relations between Manila and Beijing have deteriorated.
In contrast, previous President Rodrigo Duterte offered assurances of Chinese investment in return for Beijing resolving maritime conflicts.