China Coast Guard Reports Third Clash With Philippines This Week
China’s Coast Guard clashed with the Philippines for a third time this week in the South China Sea, as tensions in the disputed waters escalate
China’s Coast Guard clashed with the Philippines for a third time this week in the South China Sea, as tensions in the disputed waters escalate. China Coast Guard on Friday took “control measures” on multiple Philippine vessels conducting “illegal activities” at the Scarborough Shoal, according to a statement from the force. It didn’t elaborate on the measures taken. The Philippine Coast Guard didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident, which marks a second straight day of skirmishes at Scarborough Shoal. On Thursday, Manila said a China Coast Guard vessel fired a water cannon at a Filipino vessel for more than two minutes at the disputed shoal.
Amid these tensions, the US Seventh Fleet on Friday posted a photo on X of the George Washington Carrier Strike Group transiting the Luzon Strait to conduct operations in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. spoke on the phone with US President Donald Trump late Thursday, who assured Marcos that he would take up Manila’s concerns when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to Manila. The incidents at Scarborough Shoal took place after China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma.
Theresa Lazaro met on Wednesday, where they exchanged strong protests in their first sit-down since 2024. Wang warned in that meeting that bilateral relations are “at a crossroads, and it is up to the Philippines to make the correct and rational choice.” Tensions were already high earlier this week after the Philippines accused China Coast Guard personnel of aggressively striking and wounding a Navy serviceman with a wooden baton at the Second Thomas Shoal. China took effective control of the Scarborough Shoal, which it calls Huangyan Island, and its adjacent waters after a standoff with the Philippines in 2012.
Beijing has created manmade islands and put up buildings in contested waters in a bid to assert its sweeping claims over the South China Sea, which have been rejected by a ruling of an international tribunal in 2016. ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
The BriefWire