The Department of National Defense (DND) called as “unfortunate” the incident on Tuesday at the Reed Bank on the West Philippine Sea where a Navy gunboat “accidentally” collided with one of the dinghies that was being towed by a still-unidentified Chinese fishing boat.

Lawyer Zosimo Paredes, DND spokesman, said on Wednesday there was “no intention” on the part of the Navy to destroy the dinghy or even harass the Chinese ship even if it was within the country’s exclusive economic zone.

He said an apology has been sent to the Chinese Embassy in Manila.

The reported collision happened while the Chinese boat was fishing in the Reed Bank with the 35 and not 25 dinghies that it was towing.

According to the Navy, the Chinese ship was spotted by BRP Rizal (PS-74), that was patrolling the area and it approached the Chinese fishing boat to check.

But as it approached the Chinese ship, the gunboat encountered a steering problem, and battered by strong and big waves, it rammed into the fishing boat.

The Chinese ship disengaged its dinghies and fled.

The dinghies were towed to the Navy’s post in Ulugan Bay in Palawan.

Paredes said the action of the Navy gunboat was proper, although it resulted in a freak accident.

“We were conducting a routine, what we call sovereign patrol and then they saw the foreign ship, so there was the proper challenge. However, the boat encountered steering mechanism problem while it was conducting the pass,” he said.

Paredes said based on the report of the Navy to the defense department, the gunboat did not collide with the Chinese vessel, but got “entangled” with the last dinghy.

“It was a minor incident, [it] was unfortunate. That was a result of unforeseen circumstances,” Paredes said.

“It was not our intention to ram a dinghy, even if it was unmanned,” he added.

He said the apology issued by Navy chief Vice Adm. Alexander Pama to Chinese officials in Manila should be more than enough to convey the message of the defense department that the incident was not intentional.

“It was really an accident,” he said.

BRP Rizal is a former US Navy Auk-class minesweeper that was built during World War II, and is now classified as a patrol corvette of the Philippine Navy. She is considered as one of the oldest active fighting ships in the world today, having been commissioned in 1945. It was transferred to the Philippines in 1965.

The intrusion of the Chinese fishing boat was the latest in recent months after the intrusion of Chinese military boats and jets in several occasions in the Philippine-claimed islands in the West Philippine Sea between February to June this year.

China’s intrusions caused renewed friction among countries that claim the Spratly Islands in whole or in part. Aside from the Philippines and China, other claimant-countries include Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

(With Z. Solmerin)