US Sends Warships to Disputed Sea After Chinese Ships Collide

Concerns are growing over dangerous maneuvers by Chinese vessels near an atoll within the Philippine Economic Zone in the South China Sea.

The USS Cincinnati navigating near the disputed Scarborough Shoal as a Philippine Coast Guard aircraft carrying journalists patrols the area in the South China Sea on Aug. 13, 2025. Adrian Portugal/Reuters

The United States sailed warships near the disputed Scarborough Shoal on Aug. 13, days after two Chinese ships collided while chasing a Philippine vessel in the region.

Two U.S. Navy vessels—USS Higgins and USS Cincinnati—were spotted about 30 nautical miles off the shoal, an atoll in the middle of the South China Sea claimed by both China and the Philippines, according to Manila’s coast guard.