The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship BRP Cabra nearly collided with a Chinese Coast Guard vessel on Sunday, a PCG spokesperson said Sunday.

Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokersperson for the West Philippine Sea, said ''an alarming incident this afternoon involved an attempted head-on collision with the smaller PCG vessel.''

'' It is only through the seamanship skills and professionalism of the crew of BRP Cabra that such collision was narrowly averted,'' said Tarriela.

Chinese Coast Guard ship 3302 is 99 meters long while BRP Cabra is 44 meters in length,

Tarriela said the incident raises '' concerns about the China Coast Guard's adherence to the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 , of which they are a signatory.''

''Despite continuous radio communications from the PCG asserting the illegitimacy of these actions, the China Coast Guard continues to claim that it is engaged in lawful maritime operations,'' Tarriela said.

Tarriela said BRP Cabra ''has effectively pushed the China Coast Guard vessel further away, now located approximately 92-96 nautical miles off the coast of Capones Island.'' DMS