China, Philippines trade versions of newest clash in South China Sea

Beijing and Manila accused each other of dangerous behavior Monday after a Philippine sailor suffered a head injury during a clash with China’s coast guard near a contested shoal in the South China Sea.

The incident marked the latest escalation around Second Thomas Shoal, where China routinely attempts to disrupt Philippine support of the BRP Sierra Madre, a deliberately grounded warship Manila uses as a military outpost.

The two governments delivered drastically different accounts of Monday’s incident. Both sides posted purported videos of the confrontation on social media platform X.

Known in the Philippines as Ayungin Shoal and in China as Ren’ai Reef, the shoal has been a flashpoint between the two countries since 1999, when the Philippines grounded the Sierra Madre.

Manila alleged that a Chinese coast guard vessel dispatched a rigid hull inflatable boat with eight crew members Monday morning and “unlawfully approached within close range” of the shoal, according to a statement that day from the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

A screenshot from a video posted on X by the Armed Forces of the Philippines purports to show Chinese coast guard personnel in a small boat at left in a clash with Philippine navy sailors in a rubber boat at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on July 20, 2026. (Armed Forces of the Philippines)

A screen shot from a video posted on X by China People's Daily purports to show Philippine sailors in a clash with China coast guard personnel near the Philippine outpost at the BP Sierra Madre near Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on July 20, 2026. (China People's Daily)

In response, the Philippine navy dispatched two rubber boats to intercept and drive the Chinese boat away.

While the Philippine boats acted “calmly and non-confrontationally,” the Chinese personnel reacted “violently and aggressively” and struck a Philippine sailor over the head with a wooden baton, according to the statement.

The sailor required medical attention and the Philippines’ Western Command was attempting to determine whether the sailor needed medical evacuation. The command shared an image of the sailor’s injuries in its post on X.

The United States condemned China’s actions as a threat to regional stability, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton said in a statement posted Tuesday on X. He called on Beijing to “stop their illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions in the South China Sea.”

Beijing told a different story. Its boat was on a routine patrol when the two rubber boats “rapidly approached” and “rammed” their vessel, according to the state-sponsored Xinhua News Agency.

The Philippine sailors “maliciously struck Chinese law enforcement officers with oars, poles and other tools,” which led the Chinese coast guard to respond with “verbal warnings, vessel maneuvers and reciprocal countermeasures to stabilize the situation,” Xinhua reported Monday.

“After the incident, the Philippine side distorted facts and made false accusations against China, which the [China Coast Guard] said was a blatant reversal of right and wrong,” Xinhua wrote.

Each side’s respective videos appear to show different portions of the encounter. Footage published Tuesday by the state-sponsored People’s Daily showed two Philippine boats approaching the Chinese coast guard vessel as personnel shouted and a Filipino sailor waved an oar near the Chinese crew.

A shorter Philippine military video, shot from a distance, showed the Chinese vessel striking a rubber boat before figures on both boats appeared to swing oars and other objects.

The incident is not the first to result in injuries. In May 2024, Chinese coast guard vessels fired water cannons at Philippine vessels near Second Thomas Shoal, which resulted in damage to a supply ship and injuries to its personnel.

The conflict reached a peak in June 2024, when the Chinese navy intercepted a Philippine supply run and boarded it with knives and axes to destroy equipment. The two governments brokered an agreement to deescalate the next month.