China rams own warship in botched chase of Philippine vessel in South China Sea | WATCH

In a dramatic James Bond-style chase sequence that went awry, a Chinese warship rammed into its own coast guard vessel in the geopolitically-sensitive waters of South China Sea on Monday. The Chinese coast guard vehicle was chasing a vessel from the Philippines. The dramatic sequence and Chinese warship ploughing into its own tracking vessel was caught live on camera. The visuals of the episode in the high-stake location has gone viral.

While confirming the incident, Beijing blamed the Philippines of intruding into its naval boundaries. In a statement published in government-run Global Times, China’s Coast Guard spokesperson Gan Yu said, “On-site operations were conducted in a professional, standard, and lawful manner.”

As per the statement issued by officials in Manila, Philippines officials were distributing aid to fishermen in the disputed Scarborough Shoal. Commodore Jay Tarriela blamed China and said that the Chinese vessels "performed a risky manoeuvre" which inflicted "substantial damage" on the Chinese warship's forward deck.

In a post on X, Terriela said, “The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has consistently urged the Chinese government to respect the COLREGS and to approach these matters with professionalism, especially considering their role in enforcing maritime laws. We have also emphasized that such reckless behaviour at sea could ultimately lead to accidents. Our thoughts are with the CCG personnel who may have been injured in this incident.”

What is the South China Sea issue?