China ship collision: Type 052D vs Type 056

Analysis conducted by Naval Technology into the collision between a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warship and a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel indicate the involvement of a Type 052D/Luyang MoD III guided missile destroyer (DDG) and Type 056 corvette.

In social media imagery shared by the Philippine Coast Guard on 11 August, the Type 052D DDG can be seen careening into the CCG vessel, as both harassed a Philippine vessel on a resupply run in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea region.

The PLAN DDG bears the hull number 164, indicating it is ‘Guilin’, one of the later Type 052 destroyers operated by China’s naval service.

The CCG vessel appears to be a former PLAN Type 056 corvette, a class of over 20 light warships built in the 2010s, and subsequently transferred to the coast guard or else sold to third-party countries.

While damage to the Guilin was relatively light, bearing scars along its port side, the CCG vessel, bearing hull number 3104, was significant, appearing to have lost its bow, crushed by the impact.

Imagery posted by the Philippine Coast Guard shows the CCG vessel in chase at close proximity, which suddenly seeks to make a turn to starboard, as if in preparation for the collision. The PLAN DDG appears in view at speed, appearing have tried to ram the Philippine Coast Guard vessel in the stern.

Instead, the CCG corvette crashes into the PLAN warship, emerging in clips later as the two vessel make respective turns to port and starboard.

Should the Type 052D warship hit either vessel amidships, the damage to the smaller hulled CCG or Philippine Coast Guard ships would have been catastrophic, potentially leading to sinking and significant loss of life.

It is not known if there any casualties, however, CCG sailors can be seen seconds before impact with the Type 052D destroyer operating in the collision area throwing fenders over the side.

The comparative differences in displacement of the Type 052D DDG and a Type 056 corvette is sizeable, at around 7,500 tonnes and 1,500 tonnes respectively. In addition, the two ship classes have considerably different lengths, at around 160m for the Type 52D and 90m for the Type 056 corvette.

The reactions: China vs the Philippines

China’s Ministry of National Defense (MND), posting a response to an incident involving “multiple” Philippines coast guard and government vessel on 11 August, said the CCG had “in accordance with the law” took measures including “tracking, monitoring, blocking, and controlling” to deter Philippine vessels.

“On-site operations were conducted in a professional, standard, and lawful manner,” according to a CCG spokesperson.

No mention was made of the any collision between PLAN and CCG warships by China’s MND.

Meanwhile, a statement published by the Philippines’ Department of National Defense on 11 August, said that its forces “do not seek war or confrontation” but that it would act in order to “protect our sovereignty and sovereign rights”.

The incident is the latest in a series of running battles between China and the Philippines over waters that both sides contest as part of their own territorial seas. The China claim, part of the ‘Nine Dash Line’, includes the overwhelming majority of the South China Sea in waters that are geographically far closer to the Philippines and other littoral states.

In 2016, an international tribunal ruled that China’s claimed ‘Nine Dash Line’ had no legal basis under international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).