The Philippines and China summoned each other’s ambassadors on Tuesday, 21st July, escalating diplomatic tensions after both sides accused one another of provoking a confrontation the previous day at the contested Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.
Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro confirmed to reporters that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr summoned Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan at 5 pm on Tuesday. Earlier that day, China’s foreign ministry said it had summoned Manila’s envoy to China.
The clash took place near the Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines has maintained a grounded vessel, the BRP Sierra Madre, as an outpost since 1999. Philippine officials said one navy service member was struck on the head with a wooden baton and that a navy rubber boat was damaged, accusing Beijing of aggressive action.
China gave a different account. The China Coast Guard said two rubber boats sent by the Philippines’ grounded vessel rammed into a Chinese patrol boat, and that Philippine personnel initiated “malicious attacks” against Chinese law enforcement officers using oars and long sticks. China’s foreign ministry called the Philippines’ actions “egregious in nature” and said, “The Philippine side provoked the incident first, yet has turned around and made counter-accusations, distorted the facts, and engaged in malicious hype.”
The China Coast Guard added that it allowed the Philippine side to transfer the injured personnel through small shuttle boats from the grounded warship “out of humanitarian consideration”. Spokesperson Jiang Lue said, “The CCG inquired and verified the Philippine boats, and monitored the whole process,” and added that China would continue to carry out “rights protection and law enforcement operations” in waters near the shoal.
The Philippine military rejected China’s version of events as “false and misleading”, saying its personnel did not initiate any confrontation.
Formal summons between the two countries are relatively rare despite frequent tensions in the South China Sea. Tuesday’s episode marks the third publicly reported instance of China summoning the Philippine ambassador during the Marcos administration, following summonses in January 2024, after Marcos congratulated Taiwan leader-elect Lai Ching-te on his election victory, and in November 2024, over Manila’s enactment of the Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act. China’s foreign ministry has also, over the years, called in the Philippine ambassador to make representations, a less severe diplomatic step than a formal summons, over South China Sea and Taiwan-related matters.
Marcos was last reported to have summoned the Chinese ambassador in 2023, after a Chinese coast guard ship directed a military-grade laser at a Philippine coast guard vessel.
The Second Thomas Shoal, known locally as Ayungin Shoal, lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone under a 2016 international arbitral ruling that Beijing does not recognise.
The clash coincided with regional diplomatic activity, including ASEAN meetings in Manila, adding to concerns about stability in a waterway through which much of global trade passes. Both governments have expressed a commitment to managing tensions, though mutual accusations continue to strain relations. Analysts note that while such incidents are not new, the reciprocal summoning of ambassadors underscores the seriousness with which each government views the latest events.
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