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MANILA: The Philippine military accused the China Coast Guard of clubbing a Filipino sailor with a baton on Monday as they approached a grounded vessel that has long served as a Philippine garrison in the disputed South China Sea.
News of the incident came just hours after the Philippine foreign ministry said the two countries’ top diplomats would meet at a regional summit in Manila this week.
The Philippines said in a statement a Chinese rigid-hull inflatable boat carrying eight men had circled and taken photos and video of the BRP Sierra Madre, which sits on the flashpoint Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly archipelago.
China claims almost the entirety of the crucial waterway despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, and has frequently clashed with Philippine vessels in the area.
The latest clash in the crucial waterway took place after two rubber boats were sent to drive away the Chinese group, the Philippine statement said. “The (Chinese) personnel reacted violently and aggressively by striking a Philippine Navy personnel on the head with a wooden baton, causing injury and damaging the Navy rubber boat,” the statement said.
The China Coast Guard said in a statement that it had taken “reciprocal countermeasures” and issued “verbal warnings” in response to two rubber boats that were sent from the grounded Philippine vessel.
“Disregarding repeated, clear warnings from our side, these boats rapidly approached the Chinese patrol boat in a dangerous manner, attempting to encircle and ram it,” the statement said.
The Philippine defence department said in a separate statement the encounter added “to a clear pattern of provocative and hostile behaviour” by the Chinese coast guard.
The Chinese statement said that “the Philippine side distorted the facts and falsely accused China in a complete reversal of the truth”.
In June 2024, Chinese law enforcement personnel armed with knives, sticks and an axe attacked Filipino troops attempting to resupply a Philippine garrison on Second Thomas Shoal.
The two sides said a month later they had reached a provisional deal on resupply missions to the Sierra Madre, which was grounded to assert Manila’s claims to the reef. Monday’s clash comes on the heels of an ongoing war of words between China and the Philippines over their South China Sea claims.
Manila filed a diplomatic protest on Friday over a “racist” video posted by Chinese state media in which the Philippines was portrayed as a cartoon monkey.
China maritime activity
Taiwan detected a sharp rise in the number of Chinese ships entering waters around the island democracy last month, a Taiwanese coast guard official said, as Beijing intensifies pressure on Taipei.
China deploys military aircraft, warships and coast guard vessels around Taiwan on an almost daily basis to assert its claim of sovereignty over the island — which Taipei rejects.
Data show a “significant increase” in the number of Chinese ships conducting “grey zone harassment” in June, a Taiwan coast guard official said on the condition of anonymity in order to share the information with the media. The remarks were embargoed until Monday.
A total of 263 Chinese ships, including coast guard, rescue and research vessels, were detected in waters around Taiwan and its outer islands in June, compared with 200 a month earlier, and 171 in June 2025. The figures do not include warships.
“Whether in terms of the types or the number of government vessels involved in these grey-zone activities, there was a significant increase,” the official told reporters.
China launched “law enforcement” patrols in waters east of Taiwan last month, which Taipei has branded as “provocative” and “expansionism in disguise”.
Until June, China Coast Guard’s presence in the Western Pacific had been largely limited to participation in military drills around Taiwan.
Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2026
