The Chinese coast guard, armed with axes, long knives, and spears, attacked the Philippine military’s rubber craft in the South China Sea.

They slashed and punctured the boats, with one Chinese vessel ramming a Philippine boat and severing a seaman’s thumb.

The Chinese crew boarded a Philippine boat, destroyed its motor and communications equipment, and seized the crew’s cellphones and seven disassembled rifles.

Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., the Philippine military’s chief of staff, condemned the actions, comparing them to piracy.

This incident marks a significant escalation in China’s aggressive tactics against the Philippines, a U.S. ally, in the South China Sea, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

Unlike previous confrontations, the Chinese coast guard used bladed weapons.

The U.S. and the Philippines have a mutual defense treaty that includes the South China Sea, and the Pentagon criticized China’s actions as provocative and dangerous, affirming its support for the Philippines.

Written by B.C. Begley