Fresh details have emerged regarding the violent maritime clash between Philippine Navy (PN) sailors guarding the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal and China Coast Guard (CCG) personnel as military and coast guard officials unraveled how a routine patrol devolved into a bloody confrontation.

The incident left two PN personnel injured and triggered a fierce war of words between Manila and Beijing over who provoked the skirmish.

According to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the skirmish began around 9:15 a.m. on Monday, July 20, when an eight-man rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) launched from a CCG vessel with bow number “21560” approached within 20 to 30 meters of BRP Sierra Madre, a commissioned PN ship.

The Chinese personnel began taking close-range photos and videos of the floating outpost, prompting personnel of BRP Sierra Madre to respond as they observed that this mirrored the coercive tactics seen during the June 17, 2024 rotation and resupply (RORE) mission in Ayungin Shoal when Chinese forces boarded Philippine boats and ransacked supplies intended for troops, leading to the dismemberment of a Filipino sailor’s thumb.

In response, PN personnel deployed two rubber boats and their objective was to non-confrontational drive the unauthorized vessels away from the exclusion zone, according to AFP spokesperson for West Philippine Sea (WPS) retired admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad.

Trinidad, in an interview with reporters on Tuesday, July 21, detailed the sequence of events as he challenged the narrative pushed by Beijing when it released videos apparently showing Filipino sailors approaching the Chinese forces via rubber boats.

“Well, what they released was a spliced or incomplete part of the video,” Trinidad said. “If they started at the very beginning, you would see that the ship, the boats, came into close proximity of BRP Sierra Madre.”

“Why was a China Coast Guard RHIB operating within close proximity of BRP Sierra Madre? Its presence was an unlawful intrusion into an area where the Philippines exercises sovereign rights under international law,” the AFP added in a separate statement.

According to Trinidad, the situation escalated rapidly when the CCG vessel ignored repeated instructions to depart. During the ensuing commotion, a Chinese crew member struck a Filipino sailor on the head with a wooden baton.

The violent blow caused an open wound requiring four stitches. A second sailor sustained abrasions on the arm.

For Trinidad, he asserted that the timing of the aggressive maneuver was no accident since Beijing has faced mounting pressure in the global information domain over the past two months.

He said international backlash followed the tenth anniversary of the 2016 Arbitral Award where statements of support poured in from 44 countries.

Furthermore, Chinese state media suffered setbacks after distributing an AI-generated video depicting Filipinos as monkeys, where the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs was forced to distance itself from the broadcast, according to the retired admiral.

Academic reports regarding Chinese claim over Batanes were similarly disowned, and survey equipment at Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough or Panatag Shoal) was also dismantled.

Trinidad argued that the latest incident was a manufactured narrative designed to help Beijing regain footing.

“Ito ay isang attempt nila na bumawi sa information space, sa information domain Bakit? Bugbog sila eh (This is an attempt for them to recover in the information space, in the information domain. Why? They are getting beaten up),” he noted.

“A lot of events are transpiring that would bring the Philippines to a high moral ground that would show that we are on the right track. So kailan lang bumawi sa narrative. That's why they came out with this na nagbackfire naman sa kanila (That is why they just tried to recover the narrative. That is why they came out with this, which ended up backfiring on them),” he added.

Meanwhile, the CCG issued a statement claiming that the tension was the fault of the Philippine side, saying that two Philippine rubber boats allegedly approached, encircled, and rammed a Chinese patrol boat, and accused the Filipino troops of infringing upon Chinese waters and provoking their own forces.

The CCG also alleged that Philippine personnel initiated malicious attacks using oars and long sticks, and maintained that their law enforcement officers exercised “maximum restraint.”

But Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for WPS Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela slammed China’s narrative as he reinforced the legal standing of the Philippines under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

"There is no 'infringement' to speak of. Ayungin Shoal is a low-tide elevation lying approximately 105 nautical miles from Palawan — well within the Philippines’ 200-NM Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf,” Tarriela said.

“The 2016 Arbitral Award, final and binding under UNCLOS, ruled that Ayungin Shoal forms part of the Philippine EEZ and continental shelf, and that no Chinese claim — including the so-called nine-dash line — has any legal basis there,” he noted.

Tarriela also dismissed the Chinese account as a distortion of facts as he drew a sharp analogy to underscore the absurdity of the accusations.

“Calling that a ‘provocation’ is like a burglar accusing the homeowner of harassment,” he said.

According to Trinidad, medical professionals were evaluating the condition of the two wounded sailors and authorities were weighing whether a formal medical evacuation is necessary.

Naval and coast guard vessels remained stationed in the area to provide logistical support and security. Military command reiterated that standard operations, including rotation and resupply missions, will proceed uninterrupted.

The AFP said it remains steadfast in protecting the country's sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the WPS.

“Our lawful presence and sustainment operations in Ayungin Shoal will continue. No act of coercion or aggression will deter us from carrying out our constitutional mandate or exercising the Philippines' lawful rights in the West Philippine Sea,” it concluded.