Illegal Chinese fishermen suspected of using cyanide in a highly destructive fishing method have been intercepted by Philippine Marines in dramatic scenes, marking the latest clash between the two countries in the increasingly contested waters claimed by the two countries.
Footage released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) showed Marines aboard two small boats approaching a Chinese vessel, suspected of illegal fishing, in the dark at Second Thomas Shoal on October 24.
The incident took place near BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era Philippine Navy landing ship intentionally grounded in 1999 to hold the area against other claimants.
Navy personnel can be heard shouting “stop the boat!”, “Get out now!”, grappling with occupants of the small vessel as it attempts to speed away.
Several of the Chinese fishermen are seen wearing wetsuits.
The Marines eventually surrounded the boat and seized a number of items, including bottles allegedly containing cyanide.
Cyanide fishing, while illegal in most of South-East Asia where the practice originated, is still used by some fishermen to catch live fish for trade, but causes significant damage to reefs and marine ecosystems.
The AFP said in a press release after the latest clash between Manila and Beijing that its troops “upheld environmental protection” at the disputed reef.
“In adherence to established protocols, AFP personnel promptly escorted the unauthorised fishing boats out of the area and confiscated bottles containing suspected cyanide chemicals reportedly used for destructive fishing,” the statement said.
“The Armed Forces of the Philippines reiterates that its continuous presence and patrols in the West Philippine Sea are lawful and primarily focused on ensuring the safety of personnel, upholding territorial integrity, and advancing the protection and preservation of the marine environment within the country’s maritime domain.”
After seizing the items, the Marines pulled the Chinese vessel away from Philippine waters using grappling hooks and lines.
Philippine Navy spokesperson Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad told local media that “on a normal day, [the Chinese fishermen] could have been arrested”, but cited capacity concerns, per USNI News.
The Philippine Navy’s Maritime Command Operations Platform (MCOP) confirmed that several Chinese maritime militia vessels (CMMVs) and a China Coast Guard (CCG) ship were also detected in the area at the time, Palawan News reported.
Second Thomas Shoal has seen a series of increasingly serious incidents between the two countries since 2023 as Beijing pushes its South China Sea maritime claims.
Beijing claims the South China Sea almost entirely despite an international ruling that the assertion has no legal basis.
More than 60 per cent of global maritime trade passes through the disputed waterway.
Last June, a Philippine Navy SEAL lost his thumb during a clash between the military and the Coast Guard at Second Thomas Shoal, leading to a provisional agreement between the two countries.
Ray Powell, director of the SeaLight Project at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Centre for National Security Innovation, told USNI News the latest incident demonstrated Beijing’s continued presence around the shoal despite that agreement.
“Manila’s options to assert its own claim to the shoal have been limited by China’s capacity to swarm the area from its base at nearby Mischief Reef, so intercepting illegal fishing vessels is one of the few opportunities the Philippines has to push back,” Mr Powell said.
Mr Powell, testifying before the US Senate hearing on China’s behavior in the Indo-Pacific last month, said China’s mastery of “grey zone” warfare.
“While Russia’s territorial aggressions capture headlines and trigger responses, it is actually China that has quietly achieved far greater imperial successes in the maritime domain through its mastery of grey-zone tactics,” he said.
“In the Philippines … the world’s bravest Coast Guard routinely faces extreme danger at sea from China’s paramilitary ships.”
The US responded by stepping up its support for the Philippine forces with unmanned surface vessels, intelligence and training support.
Tensions have been rising between the two countries in the South China Sea since August, when a Chinese Navy vessel collided with one from its own Coast Guard while chasing a Philippine patrol boat near the contested Scarborough Shoal.
Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks rich with fish — has been a flashpoint between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012.
The Philippines had voiced opposition to China’s plans for a “nature reserve” there, calling it a pretext for the eventual occupation of the site.
Video released by Manila in August showed a China Coast Guard ship and a much larger vessel bearing the number 164 on its hull colliding with a loud crash.
Additional footage and photos released later by the Philippine Coast Guard showed the stricken Chinese vessel still afloat but with its entire bow crumpled inward.
“The [China Coast Guard vessel] CCG 3104, which was chasing the [Filipino Coast Guard vessel] BRP Suluan at high speed, performed a risky manoeuvre from the [Philippine] vessel’s starboard quarter, leading to the impact with the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] Navy warship,” Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a statement at the time.
“This resulted in substantial damage to the CCG vessel’s forecastle, rendering it unseaworthy.”
Gan Yu, a Chinese Coast Guard spokesperson, confirmed that a confrontation had taken place without mentioning the collision.
“The China Coast Guard took necessary measures in accordance with the law, including monitoring, pressing from the outside, blocking and controlling the Philippine vessels to drive them away,” he said in a statement.
In September, the Philippine government said that one person was injured when a water cannon attack by a China Coast Guard vessel shattered a window on the bridge of another fisheries bureau ship, the BRP Datu Gumbay Piang, near the Scarborough Shoal.
And last month, the Philippines said a Chinese ship deliberately rammed one of its government vessels in the disputed South China Sea, although Beijing blamed Manila for the incident.
The Philippines said a Chinese Coast Guard ship “fired its water cannon” at the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, a vessel belonging to Manila’s fisheries bureau, at 9.15am on October 12.
“Just three minutes later … the same [Chinese] vessel deliberately rammed the stern” of the Philippine boat, “causing minor structural damage but no injuries to the crew”, the Philippine Coast Guard said in a statement.
It said the incident took place near Thitu Island, part of the Spratly Islands, where Beijing has sought to assert its sovereignty claims for years.
Earlier, China’s Coast Guard said the incident occurred after a Philippine vessel entered waters near Sandy Cay, “ignored repeated stern warnings from the Chinese side, and dangerously approached” the Chinese ship.
“Full responsibility lies with the Philippine side,” spokesman Liu Dejun said in an online statement.
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