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A Chinese coast guard ship cut off a Philippine patrol vessel carrying journalists in the disputed South China Sea, causing a near-collision, an AFP team on board another boat saw.
The near-miss off the Spratly Islands on Sunday was the latest in a steady string of incidents between China and the Philippines in the contested waterway.
AFP was one of several media outlets invited to join two Philippine Coast Guard boats on a 1,670-kilometer (1,040-mile) patrol of the South China Sea, visiting a dozen islands and reefs.
The BRP Malapascua and BRP Malabrigo were shadowed by Chinese navy and coast guard ships, and ordered to leave the waters several times during the six-day journey.
“We would have collided on the bow had I not cut the engine and thrown it in reverse,” Malapascua commanding officer Rodel Hernandez told reporters of Sunday’s close call, describing it as an encounter between “David and Goliath.”
The incident happened after the Philippine coast guard boats approached Second Thomas Shoal, where Philippine marines are stationed in a run-down navy ship grounded to assert Manila’s territorial claim in the waters.
As the 44-meter (144-feet) Malapascua neared the shoal, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel more than twice its size sailed into its path.
Hernandez said the Chinese ship came within 45 meters of his boat and only his quick actions avoided the steel-hulled vessels crashing into each other.
AFP watched the incident from the Malabrigo, which was less than a kilometer away.
A second Chinese coast guard vessel was seen nearby.
Hernandez said Chinese boats routinely blocked his and other Philippine coast guard ships during their patrols near the shoal.
However, Sunday was the “closest” he had seen vessels from the rival fleets come to a collision.
The Malapascua and Malabrigo had broadcast their intention to sail into the shoal to conduct a “site survey” and asked the Chinese vessels to “stay clear from our passage”.
