Philippine media on June 18 quoted military sources confirming that a sailor of the country's navy was injured and lost a finger while many others suffered minor injuries during a mission to supply soldiers on a warship stranded in the Spratly Islands.

The injuries occurred when a Chinese coast guard vessel blocked Philippine vessels from resupplying on June 17.

The Philippine military issued a statement confirming the incident but did not specify the injuries, only saying that one soldier was seriously injured after a Chinese Coast Guard vessel intentionally rammed the supply ship at high speed, according to Rappler .

Wounded soldiers were evacuated and given timely medical treatment. Supply missions were interrupted.

The Chinese Coast Guard confirmed the clash and said it boarded a Philippine vessel for inspection. Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said on June 17 that the Chinese Coast Guard’s actions put the lives of Philippine military personnel at risk and damaged the vessels.

The two countries have repeatedly accused each other of causing tensions in the South China Sea over Chinese ships' attempts to prevent Philippine forces from resupplying their troops on a warship that ran aground in the Spratly Islands. For many years, the warship was intentionally stranded to serve as one of Manila's "outposts" in the South China Sea.

On June 16, the Global Times reported that Beijing had dispatched a Type 075 amphibious assault ship to the Xu Bi Shoal in the Spratly Islands, which belongs to Vietnam but is illegally occupied by China. Earlier, China announced that a Type 071 amphibious ship had just conducted a landing exercise involving an air-cushioned landing craft at Xu Bi Shoal.