Filipino soldiers used their “bare hands” to fight off armed Chinese coastguard in the disputed South China Sea, a Philippine military chief has said.
General Romeo Brawner Jr, head of the Philippine armed forces, accused Chinese personnel of boarding more than eight motorboats and repeatedly ramming, then boarding, two inflatable vessels on Monday.
Comparing the act to piracy, he said the Chinese had bladed weapons and tried to prevent the transfer of food, firearms and other supplies to a Philippine territorial outpost in the disputed area of the Second Thomas Shoal.
Hostilities between the two countries have escalated in and around the shoal – where the Philippines grounded the BRP Sierra Madre ship in 1999 to create the outpost – which is also claimed by Beijing.
Image: Sirens blared constantly as both sides could be heard yelling at each other in video footage. Pic: Armed forces of the Philippines
Image: Damage allegedly caused by the Chinese coastguard. Pic: Armed forces of the Philippines
Footage released by the Philippine military on Wednesday showed the dispute, with Chinese personnel brandishing what appeared to be machetes, knives, axes, hammers and sticks while surrounding two supply boats.
Sirens blared constantly as both sides could be heard yelling at each other. The Chinese appeared to smash the Philippine navy boat with a pole and images showed its side floaters slashed and deflated, and another boat with its windshields and navigational screens shattered.
One Filipino solider lost his right thumb and a number of others were injured as M4 rifles, navigation equipment and other supplies were seized, two Philippine security officials said.
“Only pirates do this. Only pirates board, steal, and destroy ships, equipment, and belongings,” Gen Brawner said.
He demanded the Chinese return all firearms and equipment and “pay for the damage they caused”.
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Image: The Philippines has demanded China pays for the alleged damage. Pic: Armed forces of the Philippines
Image: A damaged Philippine navy inflatable boat. Pic: Armed forces of the Philippines
China blamed the Philippines for the confrontation, saying Filipino personnel “trespassed” into the shoal, ignoring its warnings.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the Chinese coastguard took “professional law-enforcement measures”, accusing the Philippines of illegally supplying its vessels.
“No direct measures were taken against the Philippine personnel,” he added.
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A “brazen act of aggression” by China – Philippines defence secretary
The latest confrontation in the South China Sea is a new low in relations between China and the Philippines.
It is a simmering dispute that threatens to drag the United States and others into global conflict.
Manila says the images of Chinese Coast Guard officers brandishing an axe represent a “brazen act of aggression”. Beijing says it took “professional law-enforcement measures with restraint” – denying making any “direct measures” at Philippine personnel and insisting they were only stopping an “illegal supply mission”.
It feels, however, like an inflection point at a very tense time. The images being circulated online by both sides are only further inflaming the crisis.
In April, Sky News witnessed the Chinese Coast Guard firing water cannons at the Philippine Coast Guard.
In an exclusive interview with Sky News, the defence secretary of the Philippines has told Sky News all out conflict with China is “a big concern” for his country and that they are facing a very “volatile and dynamic situation”.
Gilberto Teodoro claimed Beijing’s ultimate aim is to “strangle international commerce and bring the South China Sea under their exclusive control”.
But Beijing has said its decision to fire water cannons in April was “necessary” and that the Philippines was “violating their sovereignty”.
Mr Teodoro insisted they are simply defending waters that are rightfully theirs and have an “obligation” as a government to “ensure that the Filipino people have the ultimate use and be the ultimate beneficiaries of the economic zone”.
He cast Beijing’s actions near the disputed shoal as part of a campaign of “persistent bullying” bent on “weakening our economy and moral fabric”.
Tensions between the Philippines and China have intensified in recent months.
Mr Teodoro would not be drawn on whether his administration has a red line and insisted they are a “peace loving people” who want to “avoid conflict”. But he also added that any perceived illegal acts by China would be “a violation of our basic law, our constitution” and impossible for “government officials to ignore”.
“The idea of any sort of armed conflict to any Filipino, is really worrisome… We will always try to avoid it. However, in the face of illegal acts by China, it will be a violation of our basic law, our constitution, for government officials to ignore this fact,” he said.
Manila refers to the portion of the South China Sea that is within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as the West Philippine Sea. The Philippines National Task Force says it will continue supply missions to the shoal “on a regular basis”.
Mr Teodoro says as long as they are “harassed” by China, “these conflicts will continue because these are Filipino fishermen within the EEZ and within traditional fishing areas”.
The US has recently made clear it will respond if there is a military move against the Philippines by China. But Mr Teodoro wants to see more outrage internationally. “I wish the whole world was more vociferous in voicing their concern and opposition to what China is illegally doing,” he said.
He believes China has not only “attempted to redefine international law but to also redefine the English dictionary with the word provocation” – the product he claims of a “paranoid mentality brought up by a closed society”.
It is the kind of rhetoric that will enrage Beijing and unlikely to encourage any kind of concessions.
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3:28
Philippines: China is a ‘big concern’
In January, Manila and Beijing agreed to improve maritime communication through talks, especially regarding the shoal.
Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela described China’s actions as “provocative, unprofessional and inhumane”.
“They serve as a clear indication that humanity has once again allowed barbarism to trample upon compassion, and that what is right is only defined by might,” he wrote on X after the latest clash.
The bodies of two more Israeli hostages have been handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas – but uncertainty still hangs over the fate of the missing remains of others.
Under the ceasefire agreement, all remaining 48 hostages, dead and alive, were supposed to be returned by this Monday.
So far, only the 20 living hostages have been returned, as well as seven dead hostages, according to Israel’s count, with two further bodies still being verified.
Hamas has previously said recovering the remaining bodies could take time, as not all burial sites are known.
Its armed wing put out a statement on Wednesday, saying it has returned all the bodies it could reasonably recover, but would require special equipment to hand over the remaining ones.
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Meanwhile, the Gaza Health Ministry said it received 45 more bodies of Palestinians from Israel, another step in the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.
Image: Red Cross vehicles escort a truck transporting the bodies of Palestinian hostages. Pic: Reuters.
That brings to 90 the total number of bodies returned to Gaza for burial. The forensics team examining the remains claimed they showed signs of mistreatment.
Israel – which has freed around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees as part of the peace deal – had already threatened to keep the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt closed on Wednesday, and limit aid entering Gaza, due to Hamas not returning all of the dead.
And in an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Mr Trump warned that Israel could resume the war if he feels Hamas is not upholding its end of the agreement.
“Israel will return to those streets as soon as I say the word,” he said.
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2:10
Trump: ‘If Hamas doesn’t disarm, we will disarm them’
Since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel in 2023 – in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage – the two sides have been at war.
Nearly 68,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel’s subsequent offensive, according to the Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government in Gaza.
The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts – though the ministry does not say how many of those killed are combatants.
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3:51
Middle East correspondent Adam Parsons explains why tensions may begin to bubble
Similar incident in previous ceasefire
This is not the first time Hamas has returned a wrong body to Israel.
During a previous ceasefire, the group said it handed over the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two sons, but testing in February 2025 showed that one of the bodies returned was identified as a Palestinian woman. Ms Bibas’ body was returned a day later.
Meanwhile, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Kassem accused Israel of violating the deal with shootings on Tuesday in eastern Gaza City and the southern city of Rafah.
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Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said the military is operating along the deployment lines troops withdrew to under the deal, and he warned that anyone approaching the lines will be targeted, as happened on Tuesday with several militants.
Aid trickling in
The World Food Programme said its trucks began arriving in Gaza after the entrance of humanitarian aid was paused for two days due to the exchange on Monday and a Jewish holiday on Tuesday.
The timing of the scaled-up deliveries – which are also part of the ceasefire deal – had been called into question after Israel said on Tuesday that it would cut the number of trucks allowed into Gaza, saying Hamas was too slow to return the hostages’ bodies.
Image: Trucks carrying humanitarian aid and fuel enter Khan Yunis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip. Pic: AP
Abeer Etefa, spokesperson for the World Food Programme, lauded the trucks’ passage but said the situation remained unpredictable.
“We’re hopeful that access will improve in the coming days,” she said.
The Egyptian Red Crescent said 400 trucks carrying food, fuel and medical supplies were bound for Gaza on Wednesday.
Fifteen UK charities have launched a fresh appeal for donations to Gaza to address “catastrophic levels of need” in the devastated region.
The charities make up the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which has been raising millions for Gaza – where tens of thousands have been killed over the past two years of war – and the wider Middle East.
After the initial stage of a much-sought ceasefire deal aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza was agreed on by Israel and Hamas, aid has begun to trickle into the devastated region again.
According to the DEC, its charities and local partners have been scaling up their work in the Gaza Strip since the agreement took effect last week.
Image: Palestinians walk past the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters
It said lorries carrying food and other aid began to enter Gaza on Sunday, with the British Red Cross and Plan International UK among those confirming supplies had made it in.
After raising more than £50m since the Middle East Humanitarian Appeal was launched last October, the DEC is renewing calls for donations, saying £10 could provide blankets for two people, while £50 could provide emergency food for five families for one week.
As goods are returning to Gaza’s markets, the DEC said, they are increasing cash assistance to help people buy essentials as they become more affordable.
They’re also distributing clean water, medicine, food, and nutrition support.
Donald Trump has refused to say if the CIA has the authority to assassinate Venezuela’s president, after approving covert operations in the country to tackle alleged drug trafficking.
Mr Trump said large amounts of drugs were entering the US from Venezuela, much of it trafficked by sea.
“We are looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” he said.
When asked why the coastguard wasn’t asked to intercept suspected drug trafficking boats, which has been a longstanding US practice, Mr Trump said the approach had been ineffective.
“I think Venezuela is feeling heat,” he said.
He declined to answer whether the CIA has the authority to execute Mr Maduro.
The US has offered a $50m (£37m) reward for information leading to his arrest, accusing him of connections to drug trafficking and criminal organisations – claims he denies.
Image: President Nicolas Maduro. Pic: Reuters
Image: Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday evening. Pic: Reuters
US targets ‘drug boats’
Mr Trump also alleged Venezuela had sent a significant number of prisoners, including individuals from mental health facilities, into the US, though he did not specify the border through which they reportedly entered.
On Tuesday, he announced America had targeted a small boat suspected of drug trafficking in waters off the Venezuelan coast, resulting in the deaths of six people.
According to the president’s post on social media, all those killed were aboard the vessel.
Image: Footage of the strike was released by Donald Trump on social media. Pic: Truth Social
The incident marked the fifth such fatal strike in the Caribbean, as the Trump administration continues to classify suspected drug traffickers as unlawful combatants to be confronted with military force.
War secretary Pete Hegseth authorised the strike, according to Mr Trump, who released a video of the operation.
The black-and-white footage showed a small boat seemingly stationary on the water. It is struck by a projectile from above and explodes, then drifts while burning for several seconds.
Mr Trump said the “lethal kinetic strike” was in international waters and targeted a boat travelling along a well-known smuggling route.
There has also been a significant increase in US military presence in the southern Caribbean, with at least eight warships, a submarine, and F-35 jets stationed in Puerto Rico.
‘Bomb the boats’: Bold move or dangerous overreach?
It’s a dramatic – and risky – escalation of US strategy for countering narcotics.
Having carried out strikes on Venezuelan “drug boats” at sea, Trump says he’s “looking a” targeting cartels on land.
He claims the attacks, which have claimed 27 lives, have saved up to 50,000 Americans.
By framing bombings as a blow against “narcoterrorists”, he’s attempting to justify them as self-defence – but the administration has veered into murky territory.
Under international law, such strikes require proof of imminent threat – something the White House has yet to substantiate.
Strategically, Trump’ss militarised approach could backfire, forcing traffickers to adapt, and inflaming tensions with Venezuela and allies wary of US intervention.
Without transparent evidence or congressional oversight, some will view the move less like counterterrorism and more like vigilantism on the seas.
The president’s “bomb the boats” rhetoric signals a shift back to shock and awe tactics in foreign policy, under the banner of fighting drugs.
Supporters will hail it as a bold, decisive move, but to critics it’s reckless posturing that undermines international law.
The strikes send a message of strength, but the legal, moral and geopolitical costs are still being calculated.