Two days after Chinese forces attacked a Philippine Navy resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal, seriously injuring one Philippine servicemember, the first bystander footage of the altercation has emerged on social media. The imagery appears to depict the China Coast Guard employing much more aggressive tactics than in past encounters: in cell phone footage taken by Philippine personnel, Chinese servicemembers appear to repeatedly ram the two Philippine boats, forcibly remove their cargo, threaten the crew with knives, and tow the vessels away.
"Hey, stop! This is our territory," A Filipino soldier shouted as China Coast Guard used physical force, weapons, sirens, and bright lights to prevent our AFP from delivering supplies during a humanitarian mission at BRP Sierra Madre in the Philippine EEZ on June 17th @gmanews pic.twitter.com/1THy7RhhxN
— JP Soriano (@jpsoriano) June 19, 2024
Newly-released photos also show damage to the Philippine Navy RHIBs, including smashed control systems on a helm console.
The imagery also shows - for the first time - that the altercation occurred within feet of the grounded landing ship BRP Sierra Madre, a Philippine military outpost manned by an armed garrison.
On Monday, two Philippine Navy boats were ferrying supplies to the outpost aboard the grounded landing ship BRP Sierra Madre when they were intercepted by several China Coast Guard speedboats. In the fray, a Philippine servicemember lost a thumb, two officials told AP on condition of anonymity. The officials acknowledged that the China Coast Guard towed off two Philippine Navy boats and seized or dumped the contents - including firearms. Philippine Navy forces later recovered the boats in damaged condition.
JUNE 17 RORE - WHAT HAPPENED?
— BRP Sierra Madre (@BRPSierraMadre) June 19, 2024
Two Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIB) of the Philippine Navy reached BRP Sierra Madre to conduct the Rotation and Resupply Mission shortly before 6 AM. They were swarmed by at least eight RHIBs of the Chinese Coast Guard, which rammed into them and… pic.twitter.com/yKVUw4qlGI
The Philippine government has confirmed some (but not all) of the details depicted in the new footage that emerged on social media Wednesday. After the incident, the Philippines' defense and foreign affairs departments accused Chinese forces of "illegal and aggressive actions" at Second Thomas Shoal, including injuring personnel, damaging vessels, high-speed ramming, towing, and violating the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Chinese government has denied any wrongdoing inside the Philippine exclusive economic zone, and has blamed the incident on Philippine forces.
"The People's Republic of China has once again attempted to provoke trouble in Ayungin Shoal. They clearly hope that the US will also be agitated to justify their false narrative that Washington really wants to go to war against Beijing," said Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela, responding to Chinese claims.
