Two Chinese military ships collided Monday while harassing a Philippines coast guard vessel in the South China Sea.
The incident, which was captured on video by the crew of the Filipino ship, pointed up the potential dangers to shipping in the region, through which 60% of global maritime trade passes.
The video showed the Chinese coast guard vessel pursuing the Philippines ship at high speed while firing a water cannon in the Scarborough Shoal, an increasingly common tactic by China as they try to intimidate other countries in an area it almost entirely seized from the Philippines in 2012. Beijing’s claim was later rejected by an international ruling.
The video shows the much larger Chinese warship slicing between the chase vessels and colliding with the Chinese coast guard vessel. Later footage and photos show the latter idle in the water with a crushed bow.
The Philippines coast guard said it saw Chinese crew in the bow area at the time of the incident, but could not say if there had been any injuries.
The China coast guard acknowledged that an incident had taken place, but did not mention the collision.
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