Struck with a baton: Navy sailor injured in China Coast Guard encounter near Ayungin

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MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine Navy service member was injured near Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal after a China Coast Guard member struck him on the head, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said Monday, July 20.

The confrontation occured at sea close to BRP Sierra Madre, the grounded warship serving as the Philippines' outpost in the West Philippine Sea.

The military said China Coast Guard personnel acted "violently and aggressively" when it hit the Filipino sailor with a wooden baton during an encounter and damaged one of the Philippine boats.

The injured personnel received immediate medical attention, according to the AFP.

The AFP said Philippine troops would continue lawful missions in the West Philippine Sea despite what it described as China's "illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions."

Philippines condemns incident

The incident drew swift rebuke from Philippine security officials, who framed the encounter as part of a broader pattern of harassment around Manila's outpost in Ayungin Shoal.

The National Security Council condemned the actions of the China Coast Guard, calling them "violent and unlawful."

"This latest act of aggression against personnel performing their lawful duties is unacceptable and serves only to heighten tensions and increase the risk of dangerous miscalculation at sea," the NSC said.

The Department of National Defense also condemned what it described as "the latest act of violence and harassment committed by the China Coast Guard against Philippine Navy personnel stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre."

The DND said the incident showed "a clear pattern of provocative and hostile behavior" and contributed to what it called China's "deficit of trust and credibility."

"Against the backdrop of the PRC's circumvention of international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and disregard of the final and binding 2016 Arbitral Tribunal Ruling on the South China Sea, their actions further justify the Department's position of disengagement," the DND said.

"We simply cannot trust this belligerent neighbor," it added.

The DND said the incident should strengthen the country's resolve to build deterrence, shore up alliances and safeguard what is rightfully the Philippines'.

"As we continue to monitor and prepare measures to meet this aggression, the Department of National Defense salutes the defenders of BRP Sierra Madre and our western frontier. We will not back down," the DND said. 

The violent encounter at sea followed several other incidents that further sour the relations between the two countries, whose officials have been engaged in a word war over the West Philippine Sea.

In April, Philippine Navy personnel reported seizing bottles containing cyanide from Chinese sampans near the outpost, an allegation China denied and the Navy later described as part of Beijing's "deceptive messaging."

In June 2024, Chinese law enforcement personnel armed with knives, sticks and an axe attacked Filipino troops attempting to resupply the Philippine garrison on Ayungin. 

The recent incident also followed Manila's diplomatic protest last week over an AI-generated video by state-run China Daily that depicted Filipinos as monkeys in content about the 2016 arbitral award. The Department of Foreign Affairs called the imagery racist, offensive and unacceptable. — reports from John Marwin Elao, Adrian Parungao, Cristina Chi and Agence France Presse