US briefly deploys 2 warships to a disputed South China Sea shoal after Chinese collision

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The United States deployed two warships on Wednesday in a disputed South China Sea shoal, where two Chinese navy and coast guard ships collided two days ago while trying to drive away a smaller Philippine ship in a high-seas accident captured on video, alarming several Western and Asian countries.

Both China and the Philippines claim Scarborough Shoal and other outcroppings in the South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay overlapping claims in the contested waters.

The USS Higgins, a guided missile destroyer, and USS Cincinnati, a littoral combat ship, were shadowed by a Chinese navy ship while sailing about 30 nautical miles (55 kilometers) from the Scarborough Shoal. There were no reports of any untoward incident, Philippine coast guard Commodore Jay Tarriela said, citing information from U.S. officials and a Philippine surveillance flight.

The U.S. Navy has staged what it calls freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea for years to challenge China’s restrictions and demand for entry notifications in virtually the entire stretch of the disputed waters that it claims. That has angered China and its forces have had close runs-in with U.S. warships and aircraft on such patrols in international waters and airspace.

The deployment happened after Washington’s ambassador to Manila, MaryKay Carlson, condemned on Tuesday “the latest reckless action by China directed against a Philippine vessel” in Scarborough. The rich fishing atoll off the northwestern Philippines has been the scene of increasingly tense confrontations between the Chinese and Philippine coast guard, fishing and other ships in recent years.

The Philippines is the oldest treaty ally of the U.S. in Asia. Washington has repeatedly warned that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines if Filipino forces come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

On Monday, a Chinese navy destroyer and a Chinese coast guard ship accidentally collided while trying to block and drive away a smaller Philippine coast guard ship, the BRP Suluan, about 10.5 nautical miles (19 kilometers) from Scarborough. Video footages made public by the Philippine coast guard show the Chinese coast guard ship blasting its powerful water cannon and a number of Chinese personnel standing at the bow shortly before that section was hit by the fast-turning Chinese navy ship.

Shortly after the collision, the video shows the heavily shattered bow of the Chinese coast guard ship without the Chinese personnel, who were standing on deck before the crash. The Chinese navy ship sustained deep dents and what appeared to be linear gushes on its hull.

Japan, Australia and New Zealand expressed alarm on Wednesday over the dangerous maneuvers that led to the collision in the busy waters, a key global trade route.

“Japan upholds the rule of law and opposes any actions which increase tensions. Our concern goes to the repeated actions in the South China Sea,” Japanese Ambassador to Manila Endo Kazuya said in a post on X.

The Australian Embassy in Manila expressed concern “by the dangerous and unprofessional conduct of Chinese vessels near Scarborough Shoal involving the Philippine Coast Guard,” saying in a statement the incident “highlights the need for de-escalation, restraint and respect for international law.”

“This is a learning experience for the People’s Republic of China,” Tarriela, the Philippine coast guard commodore, told a news conference in Manila. “For so many years, we have been reminding them to stop dangerous maneuvers, to stop risky blockings, to adhere to the (anti-)collision regulations because if there is a very high chance of miscalculation, this kind of collision incident would happen.”

Tarriela spoke a few hours after a Chinese fighter jet flew as close as 500 feet (152 meters) to try to drive away a Philippine coast guard plane on a surveillance flight on Wednesday over the Scarborough with invited journalists on board. The Chinese jet carried out dangerous maneuvers for about 20 minutes, including flying about 200 feet (61 meters) above the small Philippine aircraft, Tarriela said.

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Associated Press writers Joeal Calupitan and Aaron Favila in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.