Chinese and Filipino seamen wage maritime battle in South China Sea... with sticks and oars

A dramatic maritime battle has erupted between Chinese and Filipino soldiers in the South China Sea - with slightly more low-tech weapons than feared.

Footage circulating on social media shows members of the Chinese Coast Guard and Philippine Navy attack each other with sticks and oars just a stone's throw from the Filipino BRP Sierra Madre tank landing ship.

The scuffle broke out at the Second Thomas Shoal, a hotly disputed region in the South China Sea.

Filipino military officials accused the Chinese sailors of injuring one of their personnel after repeatedly striking him with a wooden baton.

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Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) officer Jay Tarriela slammed the "violent assault" from the Chinese seamen.

He cautioned: “Striking an unarmed sailor on the head with a baton - inside our own exclusive economic zone - is not law enforcement.

“It is unlawful aggression, plain and simple."

The Chinese coast guard has swiped back, accusing two rubber boats belonging to the "illegally" stationed BRP Sierra Madre of ramming the CCP's patrol boat "in a dangerous manner".

They said: “During the incident, Philippine personnel maliciously attacked Chinese law enforcement personnel using oars and long sticks."

The deputy spokesman for China’s Embassy in Manila has also weighed in, saying that the Philippines "can’t start a fight and then play the victim".

Guo Wei said: “Ignoring repeated warnings from the Chinese side, Philippine personnel continued their provocations, deliberately stirred up trouble, and maliciously attacked Chinese law enforcement officers with paddles, long poles and other objects.”

Meanwhile, the US ambassador to the Philippines, Lee Lipton, has condemned China’s "dangerous and escalatory actions".

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In a statement, he said: "The United States stands with the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Southeast Asia, as a force for peace and prosperity.

"China's actions in the South China Sea threaten regional stability and stand in sharp contrast to Philippine forces' professionalism and discipline.

"We join the Philippines' call for China's Navy, Coast Guard, and maritime militia to stop their illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions in the South China Sea."

The Second Thomas Shoal has been a source of immense tension between Beijing and Manila in recent years.

The area is nestled within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone - but the CCP, which refers to it as the Ren'ai Reef, claims sovereignty over the region.

But Mr Tarriela insisted that “no amount of coercion, violence, or deception can change that".

The long-grounded BRP Sierra Madre serves as territorial outpost for Manila in the disputed zone - with China demanding the Southeast Asian rival to remove it from the area.

The sovereignty of the Second Thomas Shoal is set to be discussed at an annual summit being held in Manila this week, and will involve territorial claims by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan.

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