MANILA—Diplomatic tensions between China and the Philippines intensified on Wednesday after a violent confrontation between their personnel near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, prompting renewed exchanges of accusations and drawing concern from regional leaders meeting in Manila.
The latest incident occurred on Monday near the Philippine military outpost aboard the BRP Sierra Madre, where Philippine authorities said China Coast Guard personnel assaulted Filipino sailors during an encounter involving small boats, leaving one Philippine navy serviceman injured. The Philippine government condemned what it described as violence and harassment and summoned China's ambassador to explain the incident.
China rejected Manila's account, saying Philippine vessels had approached a Chinese patrol boat in a dangerous manner, rammed the vessel and attacked Chinese law enforcement personnel with oars and other objects. Beijing lodged a formal diplomatic protest, summoned the Philippine ambassador and said its coast guard acted lawfully while exercising restraint.
Neither side's competing claims has been independently verified.
The confrontation overshadowed meetings of Southeast Asian foreign ministers and partner countries in Manila, where maritime security featured prominently alongside discussions on broader regional conflicts. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the incident as destabilizing and warned that countries in the region faced important choices in responding to what she called aggressive behavior in the South China Sea. China responded that Australia was not a party to the maritime disputes and should avoid interfering.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also discussed the South China Sea during meetings on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum, including talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Rubio reiterated U.S. support for allies in the Indo-Pacific and expressed concern over what Washington views as increasingly assertive Chinese actions in disputed waters, while Wang urged regional countries to pursue dialogue and criticized what Beijing considers external interference.
The Second Thomas Shoal, known as Ayungin Shoal in the Philippines and Ren'ai Jiao in China, has been the scene of repeated confrontations as Manila maintains a small military detachment aboard the grounded BRP Sierra Madre. China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea despite a 2016 international arbitral ruling that invalidated the legal basis for many of Beijing's maritime claims, a decision China rejects.
No additional injuries or further maritime incidents had been officially reported by Wednesday, while diplomatic exchanges between Beijing and Manila continued alongside regional efforts to advance negotiations on a long-delayed South China Sea code of conduct.
