Tensions flare as Chinese and Philippine ships collide near disputed shoal in South China Sea
Associated Press1 day
China-Philippines Ships Collide Near Disputed Scarborough Shoal
Above: A Chinese Coast Guard vessel spotted off Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on March 24, 2025. Image copyright: Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)/Anadolu/Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-China narrative
The establishment of a nature reserve at Huangyan Dao is a legitimate environmental protection within China’s sovereign territory, a sovereignty the Philippines violated when it illegally entered Chinese waters and, despite solemn warnings, rammed a Chinese Coast Guard vessel, necessitating the defensive actions taken thereafter.
Anti-China narrative
The water cannon attack on a Filipino ship is yet another escalation in China's aggressive campaign to seize control of territorial waters that rightfully belong to the Philippines under international law. Despite the threat of further Chinese attacks, the Philippine Coast Guard will continue to defend the nation’s rights in the West Philippine Sea and beyond.
Pro-establishment narrative
The move by China to designate the Scarborough Shoal as a nature reserve is little more than a ruse to further its territorial ambitions in the South China Sea at the expense of its neighbors. The U.S. opposes this and other similar CCP schemes and calls upon China to respect and comply with the decision of the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal.