President Duterte yesterday downplayed as a "maritime incident" the ramming of the Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese fishing vessel at the Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea last week, and said there is no need to add tension in the area by sending Navy vessels there. "Iyang nangyari na banggaan (That collision that happened), that is a maritime incident," the President said during the celebration of the 121st anniversary of the Philippine Navy held at the Sangley Point in Cavite. Recto Bank, also known as Reed Bank, is within the Philippine's 200-mile exclusive economic zone but it is being claimed by China.

Montemayor, J., Reyes, V., & Nonato, V. (2019, June 18). Duterte: Collision a 'maritime incident': Says no need to send Navy vessels to Recto Bank. Malaya Business Insight, pp. B1, B3.