FACT CHECK: US and PH Navy did not attack a Chinese Coast Guard ship

Claim: The US Navy and Philippine Navy attacked a Chinese Coast Guard ship in the South China Sea.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The Facebook video bearing the claim has gained 1.3 million views, 35,700 reactions, and 3,700 shares as of writing.

The video shows soldiers aboard a ship firing at a target not shown on screen, which is implied to be another vessel.

Text on the video reads: “Terrifying moment when US and Philippine Navy destroys China Coast Guard ship in South China Sea.”

The bottom line: There have been no reports from the US and Philippine navies about an altercation with the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) in the South China Sea. 

On April 7, the Philippines, US, Australia, and Japan engaged in a multilateral maritime cooperative activity in the West Philippine Sea “with no untoward incident that happened.” The Armed Forces of the Philippines said the exercises aimed to “enhance the different forces’ abilities to work together effectively in maritime scenarios.”

Contrary to the claim, the video does not show a CCG ship being attacked by the US and the Philippines. A reverse image search shows that one of the clips used in the misleading video is from an April 2020 Mark VI shooting exercise video by the US Naval Forces Central Command’s Expeditionary combat force, Task Force 56.

The exercises were done to “maintain readiness and interoperability between Mark VI patrol boats and other assets in the Arabian Gulf.”

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Maritime tensions: The video was uploaded amid rising tensions between the Philippines and China. In recent months, Beijing has persistently rejected a 2016 arbitral ruling that dismissed its expansive claims in the South China Sea. ([EXPLAINER] South China Sea: Why are China and Philippines tensions heating up?)

The US has expressed its support for the Philippines, with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin saying at a recent meeting in Washington that the US stands with the Philippines against what he described as “coercion in the South China Sea.”

US President Joe Biden also affirmed that a mutual defense treaty binding Washington and Manila is “iron clad.” 

Rappler has fact-checked a similar claim alleging that joint maritime military forces from the US and the Philippines destroyed 350 illegal Chinese vessels attempting to reach Scarborough Shoal. – Andrei Santos/Rappler.com

Andrei Santos is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

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