China gets recklessly violent in the South China Sea

HONG KONG: Two Chinese warships collided in the South China Sea on 11 August, as the country worryingly ramps up pressure on and bullying of the Philippines. The incident occurred within 10 nautical miles of Scarborough Shoal, which lies within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) but which China illegally seized in 2012.

The embarrassing incident saw the Type 056 corvette ‘3104’ from the China Coast Guard (CCG) ram bow-first into the side of the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) Type 052D destroyer Guilin (‘164’).

The collision completely stove in the bow of the CCG corvette, and several Chinese coastguardsmen had been standing on the bow of the vessel just before the accident. Considering that another Chinese vessel conducted a grid search in the area immediately after the collision, it can be assumed that at least one, and possibly several, Chinese sailors were lost. The PCG boat offered to render help, but it was rebuffed by China.

At the time, the two Chinese vessels were chasing and harassing BRP Suluan (‘4406’), a much smaller 321-tonne vessel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG). Suluan had been manoeuvring away from the chasing CCG vessel to avoid its deployed water cannon. The Philippine vessel had been responding to messages for help from Philippine fishermen, as China performed hazardous manoeuvres and harassed them as part of its blockade of the illegally occupied Scarborough Shoal.

Importantly, the whole incident was caught by the PCG on video from start to finish, so China cannot deny the facts of the accident. Nonetheless, this did not prevent Beijing and its state-controlled media apparatus from suppressing the news of the self-inflicted collision from its own domestic readership. It used carefully edited video clips or photos to portray events inaccurately.

As for international audiences, China’s propaganda machine went into overdrive to push its own false narrative. As just one example, the Chinese Global Times tabloid gathered a coterie of “experts” to present a united story. One of these so-called Chinese experts claimed, “The Philippines is clearly the provocateur, yet it has carefully planned and prepared various video materials each time, attempting to portray itself as a victim in the international arena to garner sympathy.”

In other words, he was claiming that the Philippines had set up its cameras and “orchestrated” the whole accident and “force” the Chinese ships to collide! In yet another moronic claim, the article blamed the small Philippine vessel for dicing with death by taking on China.

Far more accurately, the Philippine Department of National Defence described the incident as “atrocious and inane behaviour” on China’s part. The Philippine position was soon backed up by official statements from the likes of Australia, Japan and the USA, all accusing China of reckless and dangerous behaviour at sea.

This deadly incident brings into sharp relief a number of important points. Ray Powell, Director of SeaLight and Project Lead for Project Myoushu at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, discerned eight critical points that need highlighting.

Firstly, Powell said, this was a “major escalation by China in an ongoing and increasingly high-stakes gray zone war over the South China Sea”.

Previously, China has relied upon CCG “law enforcement” vessels and maritime militia – sailors moonlighting as fishermen but actually contracted to serve government purposes – to stake its claims. The fact that a PLAN vessel was fully engaged in harassing the PCG vessel, therefore, represents a very serious escalation.

Secondly, Powell views this as “the culmination of China’s 13-year takeover of Scarborough Shoal”. In mid-2024, China began enforcing a 25-30nm exclusion zone around Scarborough Shoal, even though it lies within the Philippine EEZ.

Thirdly, this was “a bellicose message that Beijing is no longer tolerating Philippine vessels approaching the shoal at all”. Philippine fishermen have used this shoal for innumerable generations, plus the Permanent Court of Arbitration confirmed in its 2016 ruling that China has no territorial claims there. Indeed, that case saw the court of state that China, “through the operation of its official vessels at Scarborough Shoal from May 2012 onwards, unlawfully prevented Filipino fishermen from engaging in traditional fishing” there.

In an official statement, Grand Commodore Jay Tarriela, spokesman for the PCG, fingered the real culprit. “The Philippine Coast Guard’s maritime patrols, including the BRP Suluan’s mission to support local fishermen, are fully in line with international law and occur within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. In contrast, China’s aggressive presence in this area is illegal, as ruled by the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration award, which invalidated Beijing’s expansive claims and affirmed the Philippines’ rights in its EEZ. China’s continued disregard for this binding ruling only underscores its violation of UNCLOS.” This latter acronym is a reference to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; Beijing is a signatory, but it paradoxically breaks its rules.

Next up, Powell believes this collision reflected “Beijing’s growing maritime militancy. The behaviour of China’s destroyer in particular illustrates this fact.” The destroyer’s captain, perhaps at the urging of the political commissar aboard, felt obliged to intervene in a supposedly law enforcement matter. Even after the collision, the destroyer continued pursuing the 44m-long Philippine patrol boat, instead of rendering aid to its compatriots.

In fact, the less manoeuvrable Chinese destroyer was not far from slicing through the Philippine vessel either, as it attempted to close a pincer. Such violent disregard for safety at sea indicates a hardening stance from China, as Beijing becomes more abusive in its attempts to steal territory from the Philippines.

The fifth point that Powell made was how this was “a reminder that the Philippine Coast Guard routinely faces extreme peril with impressive courage and professionalism”. Overmatched in vessel numbers and size, and facing such violent behaviour, the PCG is not cowed. Powell even declared the PCG “may be the bravest coast guard on the planet today!”

Continuing on, the Director of SeaLight said this incident “is a testament to the plight of the Philippines and the disintegration of the rules-based order that kept the world relatively peaceful for the past 80 years”. Just as has occurred in the Crimea and Ukraine, China is a hostile, imperial power attempting to steal territory from a smaller and weaker nation.

The seventh point noted by Powell is the absolute absurdity of China’s state propaganda. The country roundly blamed the Philippines for the accident and even demanded compensation for the ineptitude of the Chinese captains. Poking holes in this Chinese narrative, Collin Koh, Senior Fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, noted: “The video only lays bare PRC’s aggressive behaviour in a foreign country’s exclusive economic zone. And that aggressive behaviour was the cause of the fratricidal collision between the PLA Navy and CCG ships. You only have yourself to blame…”

Tarriela said it was “absurd for China to claim the Philippines is provoking collisions when common sense – and the sheer size disparity – makes that impossible”. Was a 44.5m-long Philippine vessel provoking a Chinese 90m corvette and a 157m destroyer?

China’s claims are laughable. “Video evidence shows the Chinese ships chasing the smaller Philippine vessel at high speeds, leading to their own mishap – not any ‘reckless manoeuvres’ from the Philippines,” Tarriela pointed out.

Finally, Powell said, “This is a sobering reminder that China’s belligerence is bringing us perilously close to the brink. It’s really not hard to imagine how this could have gone quite a different direction. Had the destroyer struck the much smaller Philippine ship instead of its own, how many Filipinos would have died? And if your coast guard ship is rammed by a destroyer while approaching a maritime feature that has essentially been stolen from you, does that constitute an ‘armed attack’?”

Indeed, would such an incident invoke the application of the Philippine-US Mutual Defence Treaty? Incidentally, in a show of force, the US destroyer USS Higgins was in the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal on 13 August.

Tarriela also highlighted how Filipino fishermen have been adversely affected by Chinese blockades and harassment in their traditional fishing grounds. The Philippine government must therefore support them with supplies. “These are not scripted actors but real people whose livelihoods depend on these waters, unlike China’s well-documented use of maritime militia – disguised as civilian fishing fleets – to assert control and intimidate others in the region. Manila’s mission was humanitarian, not provocative, and even offered medical aid to the Chinese crew after their self-inflicted collision, which was ignored.”

Furthermore, Tarriela raised another point that Powell did not have on his list – the reckless seamanship shown by China. “China must admit to the world that the collision between its own PLAN destroyer and CCG cutter was entirely the result of unprofessional, reckless behaviour on their part, including high-speed pursuits, dangerous blocking attempts and blatant violations of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG). Experts have pointed to poor coordination between Chinese forces as a key factor, with the destroyer slamming into its own coast guard ship while trying to intimidate the BRP Suluan. This incident highlights Beijing’s disregard for maritime safety and escalatory tactics, not any Philippine malice.”

The at-sea collision is very embarrassing for China. Indeed, it calls into question the seamanship of Chinese forces. Not only that, but it demonstrates that the CCG is not there at all to maintain safety at sea, but rather to threaten others dangerously and to enforce illegal Chinese territorial claims.

Following the humiliating crash, CCG spokesperson Gan Yu said the coast guard had taken necessary measures in accordance with the law, including monitoring and blocking, to expel Philippine vessels.

Without a trace of irony, Gan claimed China’s operations were “professional, standardised and legitimate”. One shudders to think of the consequences if Chinese law enforcement considers such reckless seamanship as “professional”.

Unfortunately, this was the most serious incident in the South China Sea since 17 June 2024, when a Philippine sailor suffered severe injury after Chinese forces blocked a resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines maintains a garrison aboard the beached ship BRP Sierra Madre.

Unfortunately, this latest serious incident near Scarborough Shoal portends growing risk in the South China Sea. What is more, after the loss of face engendered by its reckless seamanship and bullying, China can be expected to further up the ante. After handing the Philippines a moral victory, it will now want to sternly signal a position of strength to Manila.

This creates a dilemma, however, because next time it may be a Chinese ship colliding with a Philippine one and causing loss of life. The Philippines and the USA must be ready for such a scenario. (ANI)