It’s hard to call the collision of two multi-thousand-ton military ships “fortunate,” but that’s exactly what analysts are saying about the incident in the South China Sea this week that left a China Coast Guard ship with a heavily damaged bow after it hit a People’s Liberation Army Navy guided-missile destroyer.

The Philippine military on Tuesday blamed China for the collision of two Chinese navy and coast guard ships while trying to drive the Philippine coast guard and fishermen from a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

Australia has launched its largest military exercises with Philippine forces, involving over 3,600 personnel in live-fire drills and a beach assault.