China claims expulsion of US Navy destroyer USS Higgins near disputed Philippine waters as tensions rise.

On August 13, 2025, China’s Southern Theater Command announced that its naval forces had tracked, warned, and expelled the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Higgins from what it calls Huangyan Dao, claiming the ship had unlawfully entered its territorial waters without authorization. Chinese state media China Daily reported that the intrusion lasted from 9:01 to 10:34 local time and said the destroyer was forced to retreat. The U.S. 7th Fleet denied this account, stating that the warship conducted a freedom of navigation operation near the Scarborough Shoal in accordance with international law and departed the area independently as part of routine operations.
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Commissioned in 1999 and homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, the USS Higgins (DDG-76) is one of the US Navy’s forward-deployed destroyers capable of launching Tomahawk missiles, conducting ballistic missile defense, and participating in multinational exercises (Picture source: US DoD)

American officials emphasized that Washington will continue to sail, fly, and operate wherever international law allows. This dispute follows previous Chinese claims of “expelling” U.S. warships during similar operations, including earlier passages near the Paracel Islands and through the Taiwan Strait. Additional details from Philippine sources placed the event in a broader operational context. Surveillance imagery released by Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela showed the USS Higgins and the littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati operating close to Scarborough Shoal, accompanied by at least four Chinese Coast Guard ships, six maritime militia boats, and a Chinese navy frigate shadowing the U.S. vessels. The operation occurred only two days after a China Coast Guard cutter collided with the PLA Navy destroyer Guilin about 10 nautical miles east of the shoal while both were pursuing the Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Suluan. Manila condemned the incident and offered medical assistance to Chinese sailors, while the Philippines Department of National Defense described the behavior of Chinese forces as dangerous and destabilizing. These incidents illustrate how Scarborough Shoal remains a flashpoint not only between China and the United States but also in the broader China-Philippines maritime dispute.

USS Higgins (DDG-76) is the U.S. Navy’s 26th Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, commissioned in April 1999 and named for Colonel William R. Higgins, a U.S. Marine officer kidnapped and killed in Lebanon between 1988 and 1989. The ship was built by Bath Iron Works and initially based in San Diego before becoming forward-deployed to Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan. Over more than two decades, it has participated in combat operations, humanitarian missions, and multinational exercises across multiple regions. In April 2018, Higgins was among the vessels that launched Tomahawk missiles against targets in Syria, and in subsequent years it has repeatedly been tasked with freedom of navigation operations across the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. Its deployments reflect the U.S. Navy’s practice of assigning destroyers to visible and often politically sensitive patrols intended to challenge maritime claims considered excessive.

The USS Higgins displaces about 9,000 tons fully loaded and measures approximately 155 meters in length with a beam of 20 meters. It is powered by four General Electric LM2500 gas turbines driving two shafts, allowing speeds over 30 knots and ranges exceeding 4,400 nautical miles at 20 knots. The ship is equipped with the Aegis Combat System and features a vertical launch system with 90 missile cells capable of carrying Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, Standard surface-to-air missiles, and ASROC anti-submarine rockets. Its armament also includes a 5-inch Mk 45 naval gun, close-in weapon systems such as Phalanx CIWS, and torpedo tubes for anti-submarine warfare. Defensive capabilities are complemented by electronic warfare suites and decoys, while aviation facilities support MH-60 Seahawk helicopters. The ship’s design allows it to conduct anti-air, anti-surface, anti-submarine, and strike missions, making it a multi-role combatant suited to contested regions like the South China Sea.

Operational records from 2024 and 2025 highlight the Higgins’ active presence in Indo-Pacific waters. In the months before the Scarborough Shoal incident, the destroyer visited ports in Okinawa, Saipan, and Guam, refueled in White Beach and Cebu, and participated in multinational drills such as Talisman Sabre off Australia. During this period, it conducted replenishments at sea with allied ships and made transit passages through straits around the Philippines. Its August 13 operation near Scarborough Shoal was part of a broader forward-deployed patrol rather than an isolated maneuver, underscoring how such freedom of navigation operations are embedded in regular U.S. naval deployments. These activities provide Washington with flexibility to maintain presence and project power across contested maritime areas.

Scarborough Shoal, known in China as Huangyan Dao, lies about 120 nautical miles west of Luzon and is claimed by China, Taiwan, and the Philippines. The feature gained international attention during the 2012 standoff between Chinese and Philippine vessels, after which Beijing consolidated control over access to the shoal. It is valued as a productive fishing ground and as a strategic location within the South China Sea disputes. In August 2025, Philippine officials reported large numbers of Chinese maritime militia and coast guard ships near the shoal, which Manila regards as part of its exclusive economic zone under the 2016 arbitral ruling. The United States treats its patrols near Scarborough as part of efforts to uphold freedom of navigation, directly challenging requirements by China and Taiwan for prior notification of military passages. Each encounter in this area has therefore become part of a wider contest over sovereignty claims and legal interpretations of the Law of the Sea. For instance, a December 2024 drill included the release of imagery showing PLA Air Force fighters operating over Scarborough Shoal, reinforcing Beijing’s narrative of routine presence.

Recent months have seen an increase in Chinese interceptions of foreign ships and aircraft, which has been widely reported by both U.S. and allied militaries. American commanders have described repeated instances of Chinese fighter jets approaching reconnaissance aircraft at unsafe distances, including one episode where a PLA Air Force aircraft flew within meters of a U.S. RC-135 over the South China Sea. Canadian officials also noted an encounter in which Chinese jets deployed flares close to a Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora on patrol, while Australian authorities reported that a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft was intercepted in a manner that dispersed metallic chaff in its flight path. At sea, the U.S. Navy recorded Chinese destroyers and frigates maneuvering across the bows of American vessels at short distances during freedom of navigation operations, with one incident in June forcing a U.S. destroyer to alter course to avoid collision. These examples underline the risks involved in operations near disputed features where Chinese naval, coast guard, and militia units are regularly deployed.

Chinese sources describe these interceptions as lawful defensive measures against what they characterize as foreign provocations, often releasing imagery or video to reinforce claims of routine presence. State media accounts have highlighted the use of Type 22 fast attack craft to shadow larger foreign vessels, and drills publicized in December 2024 showed Chinese fighter aircraft over Scarborough Shoal to demonstrate what Beijing framed as vigilance over its claimed territory. The U.S. and its allies reject this narrative, pointing to the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea provisions on innocent passage and overflight, which they argue do not require prior notification. The pattern of close shadowing, radio warnings, and aerial intercepts mirrors encounters seen in earlier years, such as the PLA Navy trailing U.S. destroyers near the Paracel Islands in 2018 and PLA Air Force jets intercepting allied patrol aircraft over the East China Sea. While Beijing characterizes these as defensive measures, Washington frames them as infringements on lawful navigation. Analysts warn that this accumulation of such incidents sustains the risk of accidents, miscalculation, and escalation in one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors.