Philippines condemns the China Coast Guard’s latest aggressive action in Ayungin Shoal
he Philippines strongly condemned the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG)’s aggression against a small group of Philippine Navy personnel on a rubber boat near a rusting transport in the West Philippine Sea.
Screengrab from AFP footage of the incident on July 20, 2026 at Ayungin Shoal.
Anna Mogato | July 20, 2026
MANILA — The Philippines strongly condemned the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG)’s aggression against a small group of Philippine Navy personnel on a rubber boat near a rusting transport in the West Philippine Sea.
A Navy personnel member was injured when he was struck on the head with a wooden baton by a Chinese Coast Guard, Army Colonel Xerxes Trinidad, a military spokesman, said in a statement.
Trinidad said a Chinese Coast Guard rubber boat with eight personnel “unlawfully approached” a rusting Philippine naval transport, BRP Sierra Madre, on Ayungin Shoal on Monday.
“It circled and took photos and a video, prompting two Philippine Navy rubber boats to calmly and non-confrontationally drive it away,” Trinidad said.
But the Chinese reacted “violently and aggressively”, striking one of the Navy personnel who was injured. The boat was also damaged, he added.
The defense and military establishments immediately condemned the assault, describing China’s actions as “a clear pattern of provocative and hostile behavior.”
Arsenio Andolong, the defense department’s assistant secretary for communications, said it ‘contributes to the People’s Republic of China’s deficit of trust and credibility.”
Trinidad also condemned the assault, which happened within the country’s maritime zone.
“Our lawful presence and sustainment operations in Ayungin Shoal will continue,” Trinidad said. “No act of coercion or aggression will deter us from carrying out our constitutional mandate or exercising the Philippines’ lawful rights in the West Philippine Sea.”
Trinidad also called on the People’s Liberation Army and the China Coast Guard to include their maritime militia to “stop their illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions within the West Philippine Sea and adhere to the 2016 Arbitral Award that affirms the Philippines’ lawful maritime rights under international law.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs and the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea, led by National Security Adviser Eduardo Oban, also condemned China’s unnecessary actions in Ayungin Shoal.
The incident came two years after a similar incident happened near the BRP Sierra Madre when a sailor lost a finger in a scuffle.
The AFP is currently coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to file a diplomatic action. The DFA just last week filed a diplomatic action over state media China Daily’s publication of an AI-generated video, which the agency called “racist.”
The latest act of aggression comes a week after the Philippines celebrated the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) arbitral ruling, which recognized the country’s claim on part of the South China Sea.
The ruling also invalidated China’s nine-dash line claim, which would cover the majority of the resource-rich waters.
The incident happened at the start of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Manila, where US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and China’s top envoy, Wang Yi, are attending.