Chinese maritime militia possibly eyeing to take control of Iroquois Reef —PCG

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Saturday said that the swarm of Chinese maritime militia in Iroquois Reef may mean that it is possibly eyeing to take control of the area.

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said this is not the first time such a maneuver has been done by China. 

"Sa Philippine Coast Guard, we already had this experience of reporting this swarming of Chinese maritime militia. Sa aming pag-analisa, ang intensyon nito is to swarm a particular area and to take control of it," said Tarriela. 

Tarriela, however, said this was the first time they saw a large number of Chinese vessels in the area.

"This is the first time we were able to see yung ganito kadaming Chinese maritime militia sa Iroquois... The only analysis that we can provide for the presence of this Chinese maritime militia is to swarm a particular maritime feature and to occupy it," Tarriela added. 

On Friday, The Philippine military reported spotting over 50 Chinese vessels in the vicinity of Iroquois Reef and Sabina Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Citing its air patrol conducted on June 30, the Western Command (Wescom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said 48 Chinese fishing vessels were seen near Iroquois Reef, located south of Recto Bank in the WPS.

Lieutenant Karla Andres, co-pilot of Philippine Navy's light patrol aircraft, said the fishing vessels were observed to be "anchored in groups of five to seven and no fishing activities were noticed."

Aside from the Chinese fishing vessels, three China Coast Guard (CCG) ships and two People's Liberation Army Navy vessels were seen "regularly loitering" near Sabina Shoal, Wescom said.

"Ang Iroquois Reef ay southern part ng Recto Bank, dito tayo maraming service contract when it comes to oil exploration," explained Tarriela. 

"Recto Bank is a vital feature within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and China must cease its swarming of vessels to respect our sovereign rights," said Wescom spokesperson Commander Ariel Coloma.

GMA News Online has sought comment from the Chinese Embassy on the matter but it has yet to provide a statement as of posting time.

Tarriela, meanwhile, said the PCG is already coordinating with the AFP on how they will respond on the matter. 

"Ang intensyon ng ating Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine Coast Guard is to check on this particular area by deploying our vessels and to document kung nabawasan na ba sila, or they’re still there, or they’re increasing," said the PCG spokesperson.

"But our objective is to expose them and, at the same time, deploy vessels to drive them away," emphasized Tarriela. 

He adds that reporting Chinese activities in the West Philippine Sea have yielded positive results in previous cases. 

"Ang effort natin sa pag-sasapubliko of this aggression, swarming ng maritime militia, have been very effective sa mga nakaraang buwan. Eto ang isa sa ating mga tools to make sure na this Chinese aggressive behavior and bullying activities will be criticized by the international community so that the Chinese government can be able to be notified on how they act sa karagatan natin sa West Philippine Sea," he said. 

"Kaya mahalaga, tulong-tulong ang Armed Forces of the Philippines at ang Philippine Coast Guard to expose the swarming activity ng China, para malaman nila na we are aware of what they are doing," added Tarriela. —VAL, GMA Integrated News