Chinese Vessel Collides With Filipino Supply Boat Near Recto Bank

MANILA — A Chinese naval vessel intentionally collided with a Filipino supply boat near Recto Bank in the South China Sea on Friday, the most serious maritime incident between the two countries since a similar confrontation in 2023 that nearly sparked a wider diplomatic crisis.

The supply boat, carrying food, water and fuel to the BRP Sierra Madre — a deliberately grounded World War II-era warship that Manila uses as a remote outpost to assert its territorial claims — sustained significant stern damage in the collision but managed to return to port at Palawan. No crew members were injured.

The Chinese vessel’s bow struck the Filipino boat’s stern at approximately 6:40 a.m. local time as the supply run was nearing completion, according to a detailed incident report filed by the Philippines Coast Guard. Manila immediately filed a protest with Beijing through diplomatic channels and released footage of the collision to international media.

“This was a deliberate and dangerous act,” said Commodore Garcia, spokesperson for the Philippines Armed Forces. “The Chinese vessel made no attempt to communicate or alter course despite our repeated radio warnings. This was an act of intimidation at the very edge of our sovereign waters.”

China’s coast guard command issued a statement saying the Chinese vessel was conducting “routine patrol operations” and that the Filipino boat had “illegally entered what China considers its territorial waters.” Beijing said the collision occurred because the Filipino vessel “failed to follow navigational rules and did not respond to lawful instructions from Chinese maritime police.”

The United States Embassy in Manila condemned the collision under the Mutual Defence Treaty, saying Article 4 of the treaty covers armed attacks on Philippine public vessels in the South China Sea. “The United States stands firmly behind its commitments to the Philippines,” a State Department spokesperson said, calling the incident “dangerous and destabilising to regional peace.”

Recto Bank — known as Ren’ai Shoal in China and Recto Bank internationally — sits inside the Philippines’ 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone but is also claimed by China, which describes it as a traditional fishing ground. The BRP Sierra Madre has been anchored there since 1999 specifically to reinforce Manila’s territorial claim, and Filipino sailors rotate in small groups to maintain the station.

The incident comes amid heightened tensions across the South China Sea, with the Philippines reporting a record number of Chinese water cannon attacks on resupply vessels to other remote outposts in recent months. Indonesia and Malaysia have both had similar confrontations with Chinese vessels in their own claimed waters in the past six weeks.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Sara Duterte summoned China’s ambassador for an emergency consultation and demanded a full investigation and formal apology. She told reporters outside the foreign ministry: “We will not be bullied in our own waters. The Sierra Madre has been there for 27 years and it will remain there as long as the Philippines exists.”

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations issued a statement expressing “grave concern” and calling for all parties to exercise restraint, though the bloc rarely names China directly in such statements. Japan and Australia both issued separate statements backing the Philippines’ right to free navigation in its own waters.

Military analysts say the collision pattern mirrors the 2023 incident almost exactly — the same area, the same type of vessel, and a similar damage profile — suggesting it may have been a deliberate show of force timed to test the new Philippine administration’s response. Manila’s president arrived in Washington for a state visit just three days before the collision.

Sources: Philippines Coast Guard, Reuters, AP, ABS-CBN News, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, BBC, South China Morning Post, US State Department, ASEAN Secretariat

Written by Kenji Tanaka, Asia-Pacific Bureau Chief