The Philippines accused the Chinese Coast Guard of having conducted on Monday “illegal and reckless maneuvers” in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) that resulted in the collision involving two Philippine Coast Guard vessels.
One of them suffered large damage with a hole in its hull.
“This morning, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels BRP Bagacay (MRRV-4410) and BRP Cape Engaño (MRRV-4411) encountered unlawful and aggressive maneuvers from Chinese Coast Guard vessels while en route to Patag and Lawak Islands in the West Philippine Sea,” said the National Task Force for the West Philippines Sea (NTF-WPS).
The NTF-WPS said that PCG vessels BRP Bagacay and BRP Cape Engaño were on a transport mission to bring necessary supplies to the personnel in Patag and Lawak Islands when confronted with the CCG’s aggressive actions.
In contrast, a CCG official, Gan Yu, stated on the social media site Weibo that PCG ships deliberately collided with the Chinese vessels near Escoda Shoal.
