By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-07-24 02:51:41 | Updated at 2026-07-24 06:06:32
3 hours ago
BEIJING – China’s Coast Guard clashed with the Philippines for a third time this week in the South China Sea, as tensions in the disputed waters escalate.
China Coast Guard on July 24 took “control measures” on multiple Philippine vessels conducting “illegal activities” at the Scarborough Shoal, according to a statement from the force. It did not elaborate on the measures taken.
The Philippine Coast Guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident, which marks a second straight day of skirmishes at Scarborough Shoal.
On July 23, Manila said a China Coast Guard vessel fired a water cannon at a Filipino vessel for more than two minutes at the disputed shoal.
Amid these tensions, the US Seventh Fleet on July 24 posted a photo on X of the George Washington Carrier Strike Group transiting the Luzon Strait to conduct operations in the South China Sea.
Meanwhile, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. spoke on the phone with US President Donald Trump late on July 23, who assured Marcos that he would take up Manila’s concerns when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to Manila.
The incidents at Scarborough Shoal took place after China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro met on July 22, where they exchanged strong protests in their first sit-down since 2024. Wang warned in that meeting that bilateral relations are “at a crossroads, and it is up to the Philippines to make the correct and rational choice”.
Tensions were already high earlier this week after the Philippines accused China Coast Guard personnel of aggressively striking and wounding a Navy serviceman with a wooden baton at the Second Thomas Shoal.
China took effective control of the Scarborough Shoal, which it calls Huangyan Island, and its adjacent waters after a standoff with the Philippines in 2012.
Beijing has created manmade islands and put up buildings in contested waters in a bid to assert its sweeping claims over the South China Sea, which have been rejected by a ruling of an international tribunal in 2016. BLOOMERG
