What was feared by many has happened as two Chinese vessels - a China Coast Guard (CCG) ship and a Chinese maritime militia vessel (CMMV) - collided with a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship and an Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)-chartered boat that was bringing supplies to troops onboard BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) on Sunday, Oct. 22.
Supply boats "Unaiza May 1" and "Unaiza May 2" were conducting a rotation and reprovision (RORE) mission to Ayungin Shoal while being escorted by PCG ships BRP Cabra (MRRV 4409) and BRP Sindangan (MRRV) 4407) when Chinese vessels allegedly attempted to block them and made dangerous maneuvers, the National Task Force for WPS (NTF-WPS) said.
At the height of the chase, a CCG vessel with bow number 5203 "collided" with Unaiza May 2 at approximately 13.5 nautical miles east northeast from the position of BRP Sierra Madre at 6:04 a.m.
Authorities have yet to disclose the status of those onboard the supply boat.
Meanwhile, BRP Cabra's port (left) side was also bumped by CMM vessel (CMMV) 00003 while it was lying at approximately 6.4 nautical miles northeast of Ayungin Shoal.
"The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea condemns in the strongest degree the latest dangerous, irresponsible, and illegal actions of the CCG and the Chinese Maritime Militia done this morning," the NTF-WPS said.
The NTF-WPS stressed that the incident violated the Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the area, and blatantly disregarded 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 (COLREGS), relevant international maritime conventions, and the 2016 Arbitral Award which invalidated China's claims in WPS.
The task force said "relevant authorities" were already briefed of the incident as they await the culmination of the resupply mission.
"The RORE mission is still ongoing, with Unaiza May 1 reaching BRP Sierra Madre to successfully resupply our troops and personnel stationed there," the NTF-WPS said.
CCG airs side
In a statement posted on its website, the CCG said that it intercepted the Philippine vessels for allegedly transporting illegal construction materials to Ayungin Shoal, which they call Ren'ai Reef.
The CCG said the construction materials would be used to fix the dilapidated BRP Sierra Madre, a Philippine Navy warship deliberately ran aground Ayungin to serve as a military outpost.
The CCG said that the warship was "illegally sitting on the beach." Previously, it has urged the Philippines to tow away BRP Sierra Madre.
The AFP has yet to issue a statement on the incident although it has stressed in previous resupply missions that part of the military's mandate was to maintain a habitable condition for the sailors stationed on BRP Sierra Madre.