Chinese navy boats smash into each other whilst chasing Philippine patrol boat

Two Chinese navy boats have smashed into each other while chasing a Philippines-flagged patrol boat. Footage filmed by the Philippine Coast Guard on Monday (11 August) shows a Beijing warship accidentally crashing into the smaller coast guard vessel with a loud bang. The Philippines said that their boat was distributing aid to fishermen in Scarborough Shoal, a contested reef in the South China Sea, when the Chinese coast guard started pursuing them at “high speed”. Commodore Jay Tarriela said that the Chinese smaller ship then performed a “risky manoeuvre” which led to “substantial damage” to the warship’s upper deck, leaving it “unseaworthy”. China said that a confrontation took place but did not specifically mention the collision.