Philippines science vessels harassed by China forces

MANILA, Philippines — Three Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ships and a helicopter harassed and pushed back on Friday two Philippine fisheries vessels that were on their way to the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) to conduct scientific survey, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported yesterday.

The incident involving the BRP Datu Pagbuaya and BRP Datu Bankaw of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) came just over a week after Manila and Beijing agreed during a round of talks on Jan. 16 to seek common ground and find ways to cooperate despite their disagreements over territorial claims in the South China Sea.

PCG Commodore Jay Tarriela said the BFAR vessels were en route to Sandy Cay near the KIG to conduct “marine scientific survey and sand sampling” last Friday when they got waylaid by three CCG ships with bow numbers 4106, 4202 and 5103 and a People’s Liberation Army-Navy helicopter with tail number 24.

The PCG and the BFAR had to call off the scientific research as a result. It was not clear when the scientific research mission will resume.

Tarriela said the CCG “deployed four small boats to harass the two BFAR rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) that were transporting personnel to the Sandy Cays.”

He added the BFAR ships avoided being rammed by the Chinese vessels, which “exhibited blatant disregard for the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972.”

While the CCG ships were executing “aggressive maneuvers” to stop the scientific survey mission, a PLAN helicopter “hovered at an unsafe altitude above the BFAR RHIBs, creating hazardous conditions due to the propeller wash,” Tarriela reported.

He maintained that “as a result of this continuous harassment and the disregard for safety exhibited by the Chinese maritime forces, BFAR and PCG have regrettably suspended their survey operations and were unable to collect sand samples at Sandy Cays.”

Last year, the Philippines accused China of undertaking “small-scale island reclamation” in the West Philippine Sea by dumping crushed corals into land features covered by the Philippines’ 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), particularly in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal and Sandy Cays in Pag-asa Island in Palawan.

Manila and Beijing have had a series of escalating confrontations in at sea. China claims almost all the strategic waterway – through which $3 trillion in commerce moves annually – overlapping sovereignty claims by the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

In its own statement, the CCG defended its latest acts of hostility against Philippine vessels, claiming China has “indisputable sovereignty” over the KIG or Spratly Islands, including Sandy Cay, which China calls Tiexian Reef.

It said it had intercepted the two BFAR vessels and driven them away “in accordance with law.” It said the Filipinos attempted to “illegally” land on the reef to collect sand samples.

The Philippine embassy in Beijing and the Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague ruled in 2016 that China’s claims, based on maps that Beijing said were historical, have no basis under international law. It is a decision Beijing does not recognize but is accepted internationally.

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced yesterday a successful troop rotation and resupply mission for the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.

“The AFP, together with the PCG, will continue to provide full support to our personnel, ensuring that they are equipped, cared for and prepared to fulfill their duties in defending our national interests, especially in the West Philippine Sea,” AFP Public Affairs Chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said.

The AFP maintains an outpost on the grounded BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era transport ship. — Emmanuel Tupas, Pia Lee Brago