The image is impressive. On a video of the Filipino coast guard, a navy ship and a Chinese coast guard boat collide. Where and how? During the pursuit of a Philippin Patrouilleur at the Sea of Southern China, near the Carborough contested reef, while the Philippine Coasts escorted boats distributing aid to the fishermen in the region, said Jay Tarriela, spokesperson for the Philippin Coast Guard, in a statement.
The video broadcast by Manila shows a ship of Chinese coast guard, and a much larger ship bearing number 164, colliding in a great crash.
Other videos and photos broadcast by Philippine government television and social networks show the accident-free Chinese coast guard ship, but with all its bow.
Jay Tarriela said that there were crew members at the front of the Chinese coast guard ship just before the collision and he suspects that some of them have been projected over board or were injured. According to him, the Chinese ignored the supply of rescue and medical aid from the Philippins.
“We do not know for sure if they were able to rescue the people who were in front before the collision. But we hope these people are healthy if they have been injured, “he added.
The Chinese coast guard “continued at high speed” the Filipino coast guard, “which led to a collision with the Chinese warship”, said Jay Tarriela.
A source of conflict
The Scarborough reef, located 240 km west of the Philippine coast and 900 km south-east of the Chinese island of Hainan, has been the subject of a dispute between the two countries since China took it in 2012.
Chinese coast guard spokesman Gan Yu confirmed on Monday that a confrontation had taken place, without mentioning a collision. “The Chinese coast guard took the necessary measures in accordance with the law, in particular by monitoring, by exerting pressure from the outside, blocking and controlling the Philippin ships in order to repel them,” he said in a statement.
On Monday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said that patrollers of his country “continued to be present” at the Southern China Sea, of which Beijing claims almost all of the waters, and where more than 60 % of world maritime trade.
He also said that “any war about Taiwan” would lead the Philippines into a conflict, “despite our fervent wish to avoid any confrontation with anyone and wherever it is”.
Beijing claims Taiwan’s sovereignty and threatens to resort to force to take control of it, while multiplying the regular shipment of ships and military planes in its surroundings.