Monday, China embarrassed itself by playing bumper boats in the South China Sea. You can see from this video clip, shot from the stern of a Philippines Coast Guard vessel, that a Chinese Navy warship turned directly in front of a Chinese Coast Guard ship creating a serious collision.
My view of the collision at sea of China Coast Guard 3104 and PLA Navy 164 in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc in Zambales, Philippines.
— Raffy Tima (@raffytima) August 11, 2025
Before this, the Chinese navy and coast guard ships nearly collided twice trying to outmaneuver BRP Suluan of the Philippine Coast Guard. pic.twitter.com/xePxkUn7oY
It's still not clear why this happened. The incident was so embarrassing that it took until Wednesday for China to acknowledge that something had happened, but even then the angry screed in the Global Times didn't really say what had happened.
On Monday, the Philippine Coast Guard vessels and official vessels carried out a carefully planned provocation in the waters near Huangyan Dao. Despite repeated stern warnings from the Chinese side, Philippine vessels forcibly intruded into Chinese territorial waters. The China Coast Guard, in accordance with the law, took all necessary measures, including tracking, monitoring, blocking and controlling.
Tracking, monitoring, blocking, controlling and colliding. Don't forget the colliding. There's literally no mention it happened in the Global Times. Today, China finally issued an official statement on the incident and once again, you'll notice they still don't actually say what happened.
The Philippine vessels “severely jeopardised the safety of Chinese ship personnel”, ministry spokesman Jiang Bin said, referring to the confrontation near the disputed Scarborough Shoal on Monday...
The Chinese coastguard “had taken measures such as surveillance, external coercion, and interception in accordance with the law to drive them away”, Jiang added, though he did not confirm whether any collision took place...
“Philippine coastguard vessels engaged in dangerous manoeuvres multiple times, such as high-speed ramming, sharp turns and crossing in front of Chinese vessels, creating a complex and urgent situation at sea and seriously infringing upon China’s sovereignty and rights,” Jiang said...
Jiang also did not mention if there were any casualties during the incident.
As I said before, it seems extremely likely that some sailors on the Coast Guard vessel were killed. They were seen at the bow of the ship seconds before collision and afterwards the entire bow is smashed flat. Maybe they'll admit it eventually but not so far.
China’s Navy ship, China Coastguard vessel collide while chasing after Philippines’ BRP Suluan near Bajo de Masinloc in Zambales pic.twitter.com/heWNkGMOsj
— Joseph Morong 🇵🇭 (@Joseph_Morong) August 11, 2025
The spokesman for the Philippines Coast Guard said that both the PLA destroyer and the Chines Coast Guard vessel were no longer in the area as of Wednesday. Meanwhile, the US Navy has made a point of putting ships in the area where this happened. The US calls these Freedom of Navigation operations.
A US Navy guided-missile destroyer performed a Freedom of Navigation operation (FONOP) near disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Wednesday, just two days after two Chinese military vessels collided while chasing a Philippine Coast Guard ship in nearby waters.
The presence of the US ship in the area prompted China’s military to accuse the US Navy of violating it’s territorial sovereignty, but the US Navy said it had the right to be there.
“USS Higgins (DDG 76) asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near Scarborough Reef, consistent with international law,” US Navy 7th Fleet spokesperson Lt. Sarah Merrill said in a statement to CNN.
China acknowledged the presence of the US Navy ships but claimed its own Navy had driven them off. Not so according to the Navy spokesperson:
Merrill denied an earlier claim by China’s Southern Theater Command that it “organized its forces to track, monitor, warn and expel” the US warship as it “violated China’s territorial sovereignty.”
“China’s statement about this mission is false,” Merrill said.
“The United States is defending its right to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, as USS Higgins did here. Nothing China says otherwise will deter us,” Merrill said.
What the US is doing here is a lot like what certain conservative speakers did by showing up at hostile US college campuses a few years ago. You show up knowing a lot of the people don't want you there. The point is that to safeguard those rights (free speech in the case of the colleges) you have to exercise them occasionally.
Finally, Australia and the Philippines are holding massive joint military drills in the South China Sea which started today and will continue for the rest of the month.
Australia on Friday launched its largest military exercises with Philippine forces, involving more than 3,600 military personnel in live-fire drills, battle maneuvers and a beach assault at a Philippine town facing the disputed South China Sea, where the allies have raised alarm over Beijing’s assertive actions.
The exercises are called Alon, meaning wave in the Philippine language, and will showcase Australia’s firepower. The drills will involve a guided-missile navy destroyer, F/A-18 supersonic fighter jets, a C-130 troop and cargo aircraft, Javelin anti-tank weapons and special forces sniper weapons.
Military officials said defense forces from the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Indonesia will join as observers.
China can't be happy about that.
Exercise ALON 25 with the @TeamAFP begins today.
— Joint Operations Command (@hqjoc) August 15, 2025
It’s our biggest overseas training activity for 2025, and will strengthen our security relationship with the Philippines. #StrongerTogether 🇵🇭 🇦🇺
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/4XWjasV3ne
Join the conversation as a VIP Member