Note that Scarborough Shoal is in disputed territory: What’s Really Going On In the South China Sea Between the Philippines and China.

Scarborough Shoal Incident 2.0: The PLAN Inches Closer to War (archived)

A Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) destroyer and China Coast Guard (CCG) cutter collided 10.5 nautical miles east of Scarborough Shoal in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on the morning of 11 August. It marked the second time China has been embarrassed by the Philippines in these waters. This time, the results appear to have been deadly, as at least four members of the CCG were either severely injured or killed during the violent collision.

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The latest incident appears to have been set in motion by an order from a Chinese higher authority, most likely the Central Military Commission’s (CMC’s) Joint Operations Center (JOC), to disrupt the Philippine Coast Guard’s “Kadiwa ng Bagong Bayaning Mangingisda (KBBM)” program. The KBBM initiative was unveiled in May 2025 with the intent to provide Philippine fishermen with food security and resupply at sea [See KBBM, below]. Analysis of Automatic Identification System (AIS) data indicates many CCG cutters were arrayed around Scarborough Shoal on 11 August, and as Philippine CG cutters entered waters 20–30 nm around the shoal, CCG and PLAN ships converged on the Philippine cutters to disrupt their food supply operations.

For more than an hour, PLAN guided-missile destroyer Guilin and CCG cutter 3104 conducted a high-speed pursuit of the Philippine Coast Guard cutter BRP Suluan.  Based on the events during this pursuit, it appears the CMC JOC ordered the use of physical force to stop the Philippine Coast Guard from their mission. According to Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner, “Our assessment is that the real objective of the PLA Navy ship is to ram our Philippine Coast Guard (vessel). That is also (the) assessment of our Philippine Coast Guard.”

FYI, the author of the above article is one of the founding members of the hawkish Committee on the Present Danger: China. You’ll also find information on the first Scarborough Shoal incident in here, also known as the Scarborough Shoal standoff: August 11 SCS – James E. Fanell – SeaLight.

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