The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) coercion in the South China Sea continued in early April 2025 when a China Coast Guard ship tried to ram a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) patrol vessel off Scarborough Shoal.
The CCP’s bullying did not deter the PCG from its mission of asserting Philippine sovereignty in the sea without escalating tensions, the PCG said.
The China Coast Guard vessel confronted the BRP Cabra on consecutive days after being notified by the Philippine crew that it was patrolling illegally within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Video released by the PCG shows the larger Chinese vessel chasing the Cabra and maneuvering aggressively behind it with the suspected intent of using its reinforced hull to ram the Philippine boat.
On the second day, the Chinese ship “made multiple attempts to ram the aft of the BRP Cabra,” the PCG said. Eventually, the Chinese crew sent a “smaller, faster vessel to further attempt to ram the PCG vessel,” but the BRP Cabra outmaneuvered the vessel to avoid a collision, PCG spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela stated.
“Despite continuous radio communications from the PCG asserting the illegitimacy of these actions, the China Coast Guard continues to claim that it is engaged in lawful maritime operations,” Tarriela said, according to the PhilStar news service.
The incident brought a swift rebuke from Manila. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the dangerous maneuvers were concerning, according to media reports. Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino condemned the “reckless and dangerous” actions, labeling them a blatant violation of international law and an affront to Philippine sovereignty, according to the Philippine News Agency.
The BRP Cabra detected the Chinese vessel in the Philippines’ territorial waters about 85 nautical miles off the coast of Palauig in Zambales province. Beijing claims almost all the resource-rich South China Sea, including Scarborough Shoal, despite an international tribunal’s 2016 ruling that China’s territorial assertion has no legal basis. The CCP’s expansive claims also encroach on territories claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.
The confrontation continued the CCP’s aggressive coercion, on the sea and in the air, including:
- In late March 2025, Chinese vessels blocked two PCG ships on a routine patrol east of Scarborough Shoal, the Manila Times newspaper reported.
- In February 2025, a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) helicopter flew within 3 meters of a Philippine fisheries bureau plane over the shoal.
- In August 2024, two PLA fighter jets executed a dangerous maneuver and dropped flares in the path of Philippine Air Force aircraft on patrol over Scarborough Shoal.
- In September 2023, the PCG dismantled CCP-installed ropes and netting intended to block Philippine boats from a prime South China Sea fishing location, The Associated Press reported. The PCG called the barrier a navigation hazard and a “clear violation” of international law.
“The Philippines is not allowing China to normalize this kind of illegal patrol they are conducting,” Tarriela said after the latest confrontation.
