Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. — Napoleon Bonaparte
Again, there’s trouble in the South China Sea.
And this time, even the US Ambassador to Manila considered it relevant enough to issue a statement of condemnation against the Chinese Coast Guard which figured in another ramming or collision—the term depends on which side you are on this maritime dispute—between vessels of the Philippines and China.
Lending an international character to the story is the US-leaning statement from Polish secretary of state for foreign affairs Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski, hundreds of kilometers away in Europe, on this same flashpoint in the South China Sea. He just stirred the pot like Lee Lipton.
While Jay Tarriela of the Coast Guard immediately unleashed a barrage of diatribes and stinging accusations against China, and the Chinese side through its embassy in Manila countered with their statements, it is necessary to revisit the facts.
The controversial “gitgitan sa dagat” occurred in the morning of Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. It is just as well that a CCTV or security camera was present to record the event, just as a dash cam would do in a road-rage accident on land.
The PHL media reported that a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel rammed a fisheries ship of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) delivering subsidized fuel and food to Filipino fishermen off about some 100 kilometers off the coast of Palawan.
Rear Adm. Jay Tarriela, in his characteristic raunch, said that the incident was “intentional ramming” and not a collision, and it was allegedly done by the China Coast Guard 21585.
The PCG earlier reported that the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ BRP Datu Magat Salamat was struck by a CCG vessel around 11:13 a.m. while it was on a fuel subsidy mission for Filipino fishermen near Abad Santos shoal. The Magat Salamat had its main railing bent, broken, and detached, while its starboard side ended up with a deformed metal stanchions and support structures.
“This is the closest ever that the China Coast Guard did this intentional ramming and disregard the safety of our personnel on board BFAR and even Coast Guard vessels,” Jay said.
On the other hand, Jiang Lue, spokesperson for China Coast Guard, stated that on Sept. 18, a China Coast Guard vessel, Sanzhou’ao, carried out rights-protection and law-enforcement operations in accordance with the law in the waters near Xianbin Jiao in China’s Nansha Qundao.
The Philippine vessel No. 3015, ignoring repeated solemn warnings from the Chinese side, deliberately altered its course and suddenly accelerated, cutting obliquely across the bow of the China Coast Guard vessel, resulting in a collision.
The Philippine side’s actions seriously violate international law and the basic norms of international relations and threaten the safety of China Coast Guard vessels and personnel. The China Coast Guard vessel operated in a professional and standardized manner, reasonably and lawfully, and the responsibility of the collision rests entirely with the Philippine side.
The CCG said the Philippine side should immediately stop all infringing and provocative acts; otherwise, all consequences arising therefrom shall be borne by the Philippine side. The China Coast Guard will continue to carry out rights-protection and law-enforcement operations in waters under China’s jurisdiction to safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.
US Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton strongly condemned what he described as the CCG’s “deliberate ramming” of the Philippine vessel.
“We STRONGLY CONDEMN the China Coast Guard’s DELIBERATE RAMMING of the Philippine BFAR vessel near Bombay Shoal, just 54 miles off the coast of Palawan,” he posted on X.
“We commend the sustained professionalism of our Philippine Allies in the face of this dangerous, destabilizing act,” he added.
The Chinese Embassy rejected the US account, saying the Chinese vessel was conducting what it described as lawful rights-protection and law-enforcement operations near Xianbin Jiao, Beijing’s name for Escoda Shoal.
“We strongly condemn the US Embassy in the Philippines’ indiscriminate backing and encouragement of the Philippine side’s acts of infringement and provocation in the waters near Xianbin Jiao in China’s Nansha Qundao,” the embassy said in a Facebook post.
The embassy said Philippine vessel No. 3015 ignored repeated warnings from the Chinese side, “deliberately altered its course and suddenly accelerated, cutting obliquely across the bow of the China Coast Guard vessel, resulting in a collision.”
“The China Coast Guard vessel operated in a professional and standardized manner, reasonably and lawfully, and the responsibility for the collision rests entirely with the Philippine side,” it said.
China also urged the United States to “stop spreading false narratives and deliberately distorting facts and right from wrong.”
As this developed, former diplomat and political analyst Ado Paglinawan suggested that the government — hello, DA Secretary Kiko Tiu Laurel—should cancel the license of the BFAR vessel pilot for his violation of international law regarding collision regulations, and subject him to disciplinary action.
He said the Philippine side twisted the facts, feigned victim (as usual!) and drove propaganda toward Chinese aggressive action.
A simple perusal of the CCTV footage on the incident suggests that the accident was preventable. There was no ramming, whether intentional or not.
I see this many times before on the road, in Metro Manila, whenever a rogue motorcycle rider cuts me from the right side, courting a collision. Many motorcycle drivers have died this way and thousands of road rage incidents have occurred.