Navy officer severely injured after Chinese ship rammed Philippine vessel in South China Sea: Manila

Manila on Tuesday (Jun 18) said that one of its navy officers sustained a “severe injury” after China’s Coast Guard rammed a Philippine vessel near Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. 

This comes a day after the Philippines’ National Security Council (NSC) said Beijing used “dangerous maneuvres, including ramming and towing,” to interfere with a routine resupply mission near Second Thomas Shoal. 

One navy personnel injured

On Monday (Jun 17), China claimed a Philippine supply ship dangerously approached a Chinese vessel and slightly collided with Beijing’s ship after it illegally intruded into waters near Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. 

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), in response, called China’s claims “misleading”. 

In an update on Tuesday, the military released a statement saying that one of their navy personnel was injured due to the altercation. 

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“A Philippine Navy personnel sustained severe injury after the CCG’s (China Coast Guard’s) intentional high-speed ramming during the rotation and resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre (LS57) on June 17,” said the military in a statement. 

It also said that the injured navy personnel was “safely evacuated and received prompt medical treatment”. 

The military did not give any details about the sailor’s injuries, but news agency AFP citing local media reports said that the sailor had lost one finger and that Chinese personnel boarded the Philippine vessel and seized several guns and inflatable boats. 

A report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, citing military sources, also said that one sailor had his thumb severed and other navy personnel on board sustained minor injuries due to the incident.  

China’s claims about the incident 

China’s Coast Guard reported a collision between a Philippine ship and a Chinese vessel near the disputed Spratly Islands. 

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Beijing, in a statement, claimed that Manila’s ship “illegally broke into the sea near Ren’ai Reef in China’s Nansha Islands.”

It added that the Philippine ship “ignored many solemn warnings from the Chinese side” and the coast guard took measures against it “in accordance with the law.” 

Beijing has claimed almost the entirety of the South China Sea as a part of its territory despite an international ruling that its stance has no legal basis.

In recent months, China and the Philippines have traded accusations over dangerous manoeuvres and collisions at the Second Thomas Shoal, which hosts a garrison of Philippine troops on the BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded navy vessel to assert Manila’s claims to the waters. 

(With inputs from agencies)