Overview
- Philippine Coast Guard released footage that shows a Chinese cutter blasting powerful water cannon at a Philippine vessel and then suffering heavy bow damage when a PLAN destroyer turned sharply across its path
- USS Higgins and USS Cincinnati conducted a freedom-of-navigation operation about 30 nautical miles from Scarborough Shoal, the first U.S. Navy transit near the reef since 2019
- China’s Southern Theater Command asserted it “expelled” the USS Higgins from what it called its territorial waters, a claim flatly rejected by the U.S. 7th Fleet
- Two Type 054A frigates, four China Coast Guard cutters and maritime militia vessels shadowed the U.S. and Philippine ships, and a Chinese fighter jet flew within 200–500 feet of a Philippine surveillance aircraft
- Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and other regional partners issued statements calling for restraint and adherence to international maritime law