Overview

• Philippine authorities released video footage showing China Coast Guard cutter CCG 3104 colliding with a PLAN destroyer during a high-speed pursuit of BRP Suluan near Scarborough Shoal on August 11.
• Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela reported that the crash left CCG 3104 unfit to sail and that Manila’s offer of medical and technical assistance went unanswered by the Chinese crew.
• Beijing’s coast guard described its actions as lawful expulsions of Philippine vessels and made no public acknowledgment of the collision or any casualties.
• The US Navy dispatched the destroyer USS Higgins and the littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati to the disputed waters on August 13, marking an intensified freedom-of-navigation presence.
• Japan, Australia and New Zealand voiced alarm over the incident and called for restraint after a Chinese fighter jet flew dangerously close to a Philippine coast guard plane conducting a media flight over the shoal.