A Wild Video Shows a Chinese Coast Guard Ship Colliding with a Philippine Vessel While Being Smashed by a Powerful Water Cannon

• A video shows a Chinese ship colliding with a Philippine ship and firing water cannons.

• According to the Philippine Coast Guard, the ship was damaged in the attack.

• The confrontation within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone is the latest between the two countries.

According to Philippine authorities, Chinese coast guard vessels encountered two Philippine vessels this week and harassed, rammed and fired water cannons at them.

Official videos and other media footage show the latest conflict between the two countries as China continues to flout international law on South China Sea territory and attack Philippine vessels in Manila’s exclusive economic zone.

The Philippine Coast Guard released video footage of the incident on Tuesday.

The footage shows Chinese ships firing water cannons at a Philippine Coast Guard vessel and a ship belonging to the country’s Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Bureau, the BRP Bagacay BRP Data Bankawas the two ships were conducting a “legitimate maritime patrol” near Scarborough Shoal, a disputed area in the South China Sea within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone where China forcibly exerts control.

In the released footage, two larger Chinese ships surround one of the Philippine ships and fire water cannons from both sides.

“During the patrol, the Philippine vessels encountered dangerous maneuvers and obstacles by four Chinese Coast Guard vessels and six Chinese Maritime Militia vessels,” Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said.

The recent confrontation “resulted in damage to the railing and canopy,” Tarriela added, adding a picture as evidence. “This damage serves as evidence of the strong water pressure used by the Chinese Coast Guard to harass the Philippine vessels.”

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said in a statement that China’s behavior was “shocking and appalling” and that the embedded press could witness and experience first-hand the “illegal, coercive, aggressive and dangerous actions” of the Chinese side.

Local News5 journalist Gio Robles posted videos of the incident on X, showing scenes aboard the Datu Bankaw.

The Telegraph’s Asia correspondent, Nicola Smith, was aboard the Philippine coast guard ship Bagacay and wrote of the experience that when the Chinese ships hit the ship with their water cannons, “all you could hear was the roar of the water and even more frantic screams from the crew could hear.”

Smith said the ship’s canopy was broken in the violent attack and that the Datu Bankaw’s interior was flooded and the onboard radar was damaged.

China’s coast guard said in a post on the country’s social media platform Weibo that it had expelled the Philippine vessels for “invading” its waters “in accordance with the law.”

The Philippines, however, said the ships “held firm and continued their maritime patrol. They were undeterred and will continue to conduct their legitimate operations to support Filipino fishermen and ensure their safety.”

The on Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security Think Tank wrote on social media.

“It’s about doing harm, not just repelling it,” he said.

It is the latest battle between the two countries as China continues to dominate disputed waters in the South China Sea, defying international law and asserting its dominance in the strategic waterway. Scarborough Shoal, where the Chinese Coast Guard maintains a constant presence, but the Philippines continues to assert claims to this area.

There have been numerous Chinese attacks on Filipino ships. In a recent incident in March, a Chinese water cannon destroyed the windows of a Philippine ship and injured four sailors.

The Philippine Coast Guard said Tuesday that China had reinstalled a roughly 1,200-foot-long floating barrier that “covers the entire entrance to the shoal, effectively restricting access to the area, a prime fishing spot.”

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