China ships collide during clash with Philippine vessel at Scarborough Shoal

China’s coastguard said Monday that it took necessary measures to expel Philippine vessels from a contested feature in the South China Sea, while Manila claimed two Chinese vessels collided during the operation, leaving one heavily damaged.

Chinese coastguard spokesman Gan Yu said in a statement that the Chinese coastguard forced several Philippine coastguard and government vessels away from waters near Scarborough Shoal after they “ignored repeated warnings from the Chinese side and insistently intruded into the waterway”.

The Chinese side said it had taken “necessary” measures including tracking, monitoring, intercepting and blocking, describing them as “professional, standardised, legitimate and legal”.

“Huangyan Island is an inherent part of China’s territory,” Gan said, referring to the Chinese name for the shoal, adding that the coastguard would continue law enforcement activities “to safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests”.

In videos posted by the Philippine Coast Guard on Monday morning, a Chinese vessel was seen deploying a water cannon against smaller Philippine ships. The video showed a Chinese coastguard vessel with the hull number 3104 colliding with a larger vessel numbered 164, followed by a loud bang.