US briefly deploys warships after Chinese military ships’ collision

MANILA, Philippines — The U.S. deployed two warships Wednesday in a disputed South China Sea shoal where two Chinese ships collided earlier in the week while trying to drive away a smaller Philippine ship in a high-seas accident that raised alarms about maritime safety.

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 Higgins, a guided missile destroyer, and Cincinnati, a littoral combat ship, were shadowed by a Chinese navy ship while sailing about 30 nautical miles 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 voyages and overflights in the South China Sea for years to challenge China’s restrictions and its 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, on Tuesday condemned “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 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 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 above the small Philippine aircraft, Tarriela said.

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

菲律宾马尼拉——美国周三在南海一处有争议的浅滩部署了两艘军舰。本周早些时候，两艘中国船只在该浅滩相撞，当时它们正试图驱赶一艘较小的菲律宾船只。这起公海事故引发了人们对海上安全的担忧。

中国和菲律宾都声称对黄岩岛及南海其他礁石拥有主权。越南、马来西亚、文莱和台湾也对争议水域提出重叠的主权声索。

菲律宾海岸警卫队准将杰伊·塔里埃拉援引美国官员和菲律宾侦察机提供的信息称，导弹驱逐舰“希金斯”号和濒海战斗舰“辛辛那提”号在距离黄岩岛约30海里处航行时，遭到一艘中国海军舰艇的跟踪。没有接到任何意外事件的报告。

多年来，美国海军在南海开展所谓的“航行自由”航行和飞越活动，挑战中国的限制以及其在几乎整个争议水域（中国声称拥有主权）的入境申报要求。这激怒了中国，其军队曾多次与在国际水域和空域进行此类巡逻的美国军舰和飞机发生近距离接触。

此次部署发生在华盛顿驻马尼拉大使玛丽凯·卡尔森周二谴责中国在黄岩岛针对菲律宾船只采取“最新鲁莽行动”之后。近年来，这个位于菲律宾西北部、渔业资源丰富的环礁一直是中菲两国海警、渔船及其他船只之间日益紧张的对抗发生地。

菲律宾是美国在亚洲历史最悠久的条约盟友。华盛顿曾多次警告，如果菲律宾军队遭受武装攻击，包括在南海，美国有义务保卫菲律宾。

周一，一艘中国海军驱逐舰和一艘中国海警船在距离斯卡伯勒港约10.5海里处，试图拦截并驱离一艘较小的菲律宾海警船“苏鲁安”号时，发生意外碰撞。菲律宾海警公布的视频显示，中国海警船发射了强力水炮，船首附近有多名中国人员，随后中国海军驱逐舰快速转向，撞上了船首部分。

碰撞发生后不久，视频显示中国海警船的船首严重损毁，甲板上已不见中国人员的身影，而碰撞前他们还站在甲板上。中国海军舰艇的船体上布满了深深的凹痕，以及看似线性的裂痕。

周三，日本、澳大利亚和新西兰对导致这起发生在繁忙海域（一条重要的全球贸易航线）的碰撞事故的危险操作表示震惊。

“日本坚持法治，反对任何加剧紧张局势的行为。我们对南海地区一再发生的事件表示关切。”日本驻马尼拉大使远藤和也通过X网站发帖表示。

澳大利亚驻马尼拉大使馆对“中国船只在黄岩岛附近与菲律宾海岸警卫队发生冲突的危险和不专业行为”表示关切，并在声明中表示，该事件“凸显了缓和局势、保持克制和尊重国际法的必要性”。

菲律宾海岸警卫队准将塔里埃拉在马尼拉举行的新闻发布会上表示：“这对中华人民共和国来说是一次教训。多年来，我们一直在提醒他们停止危险操作，停止冒险封锁，遵守防撞规则，因为如果误判的概率很高，就会发生这种碰撞事故。”

塔里埃拉发表讲话的几个小时前，一架中国战斗机周三在斯卡伯勒上空近距离飞行，试图驱赶一架载有受邀记者的菲律宾海岸警卫队飞机。当时，这架中国战斗机距离飞机仅有500英尺（约150米）。塔里埃拉说，这架中国战斗机进行了大约20分钟的危险机动，包括在距离菲律宾小型飞机约200英尺（约60米）的高度飞行。

美联社驻菲律宾马尼拉记者乔尔·卡卢皮坦和亚伦·法维拉对本报道亦有贡献。