Both sides traded the charges six days after Beijing announced plans to turn the atoll into a nature reserve.
Released on September 16, 2025
Ships from China and the Philippines reportedly clashed near the conflicted Scarborough shawl in the South China Sea amid growing maritime tensions between the two countries.
Both sides exchanged the charges on Tuesday, with China claiming that the Philippines had plunged into one of the coast guard vessels in the area.
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The Philippine Coast Guard said China’s “aggressive behavior” damaged one of its ships and injured one of its staff.
A spokesman for the Chinese Coast Guard confirmed that after 10 boats from the Philippines arrived it was suggested to have become “illegal.”
“The Chinese Coast Guard has legally implemented control measures against the Philippines’ vessels,” Gang Yu said.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard said it encountered attacks from nine Chinese vessels when it arrived in shallow waters to over 35 of the country’s fishing vessels.
A spokesman for the Philippine Maritime Council told Reuters that China’s claims that it had taken control measures against the Philippine ships “is not true,” adding that it was “a separate case of China’s disinformation and promotion.”
The latest incident at Shoal, known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines, is less than a week after Beijing said it would turn the 8,650-acre conflict into a nature reserve to ensure “diversity, stability and sustainability.”
The Philippines and its allies have denounced the decision to China, but they say they have little to do with promoting biodiversity.
The Philippine Foreign Ministry said the following day it would launch a “formal diplomatic protest against this illegal and illegal action.”
The US is also taking it to X by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reject China’s “destabilization plan” at Scarborough Reef, 240km (150 miles) west of Luzon, the main island of the Philippines.
The Canadian Embassy in the Philippines takes the same position, suggesting that China’s “attempts to use environmental protection” are covers to control shallow waters.
China claims the entire South China Sea and has unresolved maritime disputes with many countries in the region, including the Philippines and Vietnam.
In 2016, the permanent arbitration court in The Hague ruled that Beijing’s claims were not supported by international law.
Last week, China warned the Philippines not to cause it in the South China Sea, referring to joint military training held last week with the US and Japan.
“Attempts to stir up problems or disrupt the situation are not successful,” said a spokesman for the Chinese military’s Southern Theatre Command.
