(Manila) The Philippine army announced Tuesday that one of its sailors was seriously injured in the collision that occurred the day before between his boat and a Chinese coast guard vessel in the South China Sea.
“A member of the Philippine Navy was seriously injured after an intentional high-speed collision” caused by the Chinese Coast Guard “during a rotation and resupply mission,” the military said in a statement.
Second Thomas Shoal Atoll has been the scene of an increasing number of confrontations between Chinese and Filipino ships in recent months.
The Philippine military added that the sailor was “safely evacuated and received prompt medical treatment,” without providing further details about his injury.
These incidents often took place during resupply missions by the Philippines to the military present on the BRP Sierra Madre, a warship deliberately stranded on the atoll with the aim of making it an outpost and asserting their sovereignty claims against China.
Second Thomas Atoll is about 200 km from the Philippine island of Palawan and more than 1000 km from the nearest large Chinese island, Hainan.
The Chinese coast guard said Monday that a Philippine supply ship in the area had “ignored numerous solemn warnings from China” and had “taken control measures” against it “in accordance with the law.”
The boat “approached the […] Chinese ship in an unprofessional manner, resulting in a collision,” Beijing assured.
The Philippine military immediately rejected these accusations, calling them “misleading and false”.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro vowed that the Philippine military would resist Chinese actions.