Chinese ship collides with PH resupply boat

M ANILA, Philippines — A China Coast Guard (CCG) ship making “dangerous blocking
maneuvers” collided on Sunday morning with one of two boats used by the Philippine Navy
for rotation and resupply missions to Filipino troops stationed on Ayungin Shoal, the National Task
Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) reported.

During that same mission, the port (left-hand) side of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)
vessel was also “bumped” by a Chinese
maritime militia vessel.

Both incidents, the latest in a series of

maritime tensions between the two countries,
were condemned by the NTF-WPS, as it
criticized the “dangerous, irresponsible and
illegal actions” of the CCG and Chinese
maritime militia.

"[These are] in violation of Philippine

sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction
and in utter blatant disregard of the United
Nations Charter, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), Convention on the
International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea and relevant international maritime
conventions, and the 2016 Arbitral Award,” the NTF-WPS said in a statement.

The task force reported that the collision between CCG Vessel 5203 and Filipino supply boat
Unaizah May 2 took place at 6:04 a.m. on Sunday, 13.5 nautical miles (NM) or 1.9 kilometers east
northeast of the BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded World War II-era warship serving as a military
outpost on Ayungin Shoal. It did not say if the boat’s crew suffered injuries or if the Unaizah May 2
sustained any damage.

Despite the collision, the resupply mission was

“successfully” conducted as the other supply boat, Unaizah
May 1, made it to BRP Sierra Madre, the task force added.

In the second incident, a Chinese maritime militia vessel with

tail No. 00003 (CMMV 00003) bumped PCG vessel MRRV
4409 which was lying approximately 6.4 NM (11.9 km)
northeast of Ayungin.