Key facts
- Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will summon China's ambassador in Manila.
- China's foreign ministry summoned the Philippines' envoy to Beijing.
- The diplomatic actions follow an incident at the Second Thomas Shoal.
- Both nations accused each other of provoking tensions and distorting facts.
- Philippine officials reported a navy personnel was struck on the head.
- China's Coast Guard claimed Philippine boats initiated an attack.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is set to summon China's ambassador in Manila following a maritime incident in the South China Sea. This move comes after both countries summoned each other's envoys amid escalating tensions and mutual accusations of aggression and factual distortion related to an encounter at the Second Thomas Shoal.
According to Philippine officials, a navy personnel was struck on the head during the incident, and a rubber boat sustained damage. However, the China Coast Guard (CCG) asserted that two Philippine rubber boats rammed a Chinese patrol boat and that Philippine personnel initiated "malicious attacks" using oars and long sticks. The CCG stated it permitted the transfer of the injured Philippine personnel out of humanitarian consideration.
Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro confirmed that Marcos had summoned Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan. Earlier the same day, China's foreign ministry had summoned Manila's envoy to China. Such diplomatic summonses are relatively rare, despite ongoing tensions in the South China Sea. This marks the third publicly reported instance of China summoning the Philippine ambassador during Marcos Jr.'s administration, with previous summonses occurring in January 2024 and November 2024 over unrelated matters. The CCG spokesperson, Jiang Lue, added that China would continue its "rights-protection and law-enforcement operations" in the area.
The Philippine military has refuted China's claims, labeling them as "false and misleading" and asserting that its personnel did not initiate any confrontation.