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A close encounter with China Coast Guard on the way to Ayungin Shoal
The BRP Cabra was but a dark lump on the horizon, its navigational lights growing brighter in the fading light. Above the ship, the dying sun had stained the sky in a mad palette of orange, yellow and purple, while darkness expanded with haste throughout the rest of the Philippine sky.
Night was upon the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Multi-Role Response Vessels (MRRVs) as they sailed to Sabina Shoal where the two wooden resupply ships, laden with supplies and rotating personnel for the BRP Sierra Madre would be waiting.
From the deck of the BRP Sindangan, we sipped our coffee and pulled on our cigarettes, wondering what the other journalists were having for dinner onboard the BRP Cabra. We joked a lot over dinner, wishing we could have a bit of a drink to drown the anxiety and seasickness that was starting to set in.
Around 9 in the evening a crew member told us the Unaizah May 1 and 2 had made radio contact. Inside the bridge of the Sindangan, it was pitch-black. Pale green light from the navigation screens revealed the faces of the crew on watch. Orders were made in low voices. The two UMs showed up as two small icons on the radar, lines cutting through the dark spaces, indicating their course.
In the moonless night, the two points of light in the Stygian gloom soon grew into the two UM vessels, their outlines invisible save for a small red light on their bows and the fluorescent light illuminating the cargo hold just above the waterline.
Together the four ships would sail to Ayungin Shoal, the MRRVS growling through the water, and the UMs sounding like small airplanes, protected in between.
At daybreak on Friday we had a better view of the UMs. The Unaizah May 1 or UM1 was closest to us, its hull painted a shade of deep scarlet. Several meters behind, sitting lower in the water, the green hull of the Unaizah May 2 or UM2 broke the sea just in front of the BRP Cabra.
Chinese ships
The first Chinese ship appeared before six in the morning, cutting through the water, straight at us, at an estimated 14 knots. As it approached, it appeared to alter its course passing several hundred meters portside (on the left) of the Sindangan. Despite the faint and misty light of dawn, the number 21616 could be seen painted on its bow. Based on its silhouette, it was a Jiangdao Class ship with a length of 90 meters, almost double the size of the Filipino MRRVs. The Jiangdao sailed past, turned, and settled less than a kilometer behind the BRP Cabra.
The radio on the Sindangan's bridge crackled to life, a male voice, rattling off a Chinese message, followed by a strained and English translation: "PHILIPPINE SHIP, THIS IS CHINESE COAST GUARD 21616. YOU ARE APPROACHING CHINA ... TO AVOID MISUNDERSTANDING AND MISCALCULATION PLEASE INFORM US OF YOUR INTENTION."
"Sir, sagutin ko na ba? (Sir, should I reply?)" a female officer asked the Sindangan's commanding officer, a printout of the text of the radio challenges and responses in her hand.
Commander Lee Omawen, the BRP Sindangan captain, was a large man whose wide frame and quiet demeanor dominated the cramped bridge. The broad shoulders and tank-like torso are typical of the men from the Mountain Province where he traced his roots.
He was on on the left corner of the bridge, binoculars in his large hands. Turning toward the female officer, he then gave his consent. The easy smile that had greeted us at Buliluyan Port in Palawan was still on his face albeit the gravity of the moment was etched on his face.
"CHINA COAST GUARD 21616 THIS IS BRP SINDANGAN 4407 CONDUCTING LAWFUL MARITIME PATROL WITHIN THE PHILIPPINE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE. IN ACCORDANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL AND PHILIPPINE NATIONAL LAW, WE ARE PROCEEDING ACCORDING TO OUR PLANNED ROUTE. REQUEST TO STAY CLEAR FROM OUR PATH IN ACCORDANCE TO THE COLLISION REGULATION. OVER," the female officer said.
For the better part of an hour, the two PCG ships took turns hurling radio challenges at the China Coast Guard (CCG), until a female voice, speaking better English this time, was heard over the radio: "PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD VESSEL, THIS IS CHINA COAST GUARD 5305. CHINA HAS INDISPUTABLE SOVEREIGNTY OVER ... INCLUDING ... AND ITS ADJACENT WATERS. IN THE SPIRIT OF HUMANISM, WE WILL ONLY PERMIT THE ENTRY OF VESSELS CARRYING FOOD AND OTHER NECESSARY MATERIALS FOR THE ROTATING PERSONNEL OF THE ILLEGALLY GROUNDED VESSEL 57..."
The ship issuing the challenge was the 138 meter Zhaoduan Class 5305, the biggest CCG ship among the four that came to intercept us that morning. It approached from the horizon, gleaming white in the strengthening sunlight, and flanked by four blue fishing ships.
Several minutes later at around 8 AM, a pair of Hulai II Class 53 meter patrol boats with hull numbers 21556 and 21551, came up from behind.
Unlike the 5305 and 2616, these were shorter, sleeker and smaller boats, with exhaust ports blackened by soot at their water line. From the bridge, the ships tapered down toward the rear, giving the illusion of speed. At the rear, two speedboats were tilted backward, ready to slide into the water.
Several kilometers away, a People's Liberation Army Navy Luhai class destroyer, the Shenzen 167, lurked, observing the unfolding events. It appeared to draw near but turned away when challenged over the radio.
For several minutes all four CCG ships kept their distance flanking the Filipino flotilla on either side. Further away, the four fishing militia ships kept pace. It was around this time that a gray P8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft appeared overhead, circling the Filipino and Chinese ships, and occasionally dipping its wings. Another smaller aircraft was also seen circling at a higher altitude, though it was not too small to identify.
All hope for an uneventful resupply run disappeared as the smaller Hulai II boats began to break formation and eased their way between the Philippine ships in an attempt to isolate the BRP Cabra and the UM2.
The 21551 forced its way between Cabra and the UM2, almost touching the rear of the wooden ship. The Cabra responded, surging forward to shield the wooden boat, which in turn swerved to the left, away from the Chinese boat. For a few minutes, Chinese and Philippine coast guard vessels sailed abreast, neither one giving way, their crew members taking pictures and videos of each other.
WATCH: China vessels again maneuvered dangerously vs PH ships near Ayungin – NTF-WPS
Journalists on board the Cabra waved at the Chinese crew, taking photographs and doing their standups. As the UM2 drew away, the Chinese ship made one last lurch towards the rear of the Cabra, appearing to ram the rear end, but veered away, reversed its engines at the last moment, and missed the Filipino ship by a few meters.
With the 21551 no longer pursuing the UM2, it was the 21556's turn to sail close to the BRP Sindangan to separate the UM1. The wooden ship allowed itself to be separated and turned to join the UM2 that was making a run for an open space behind the Chinese ships.
At this point, the engines of the Sindangan suddenly came to life, releasing a throaty roar as it surged forward toward Ayungin Shoal. The nearest fishing ship responded and ran alongside the PCG vessel, trying to match its speed. The intelligence officer piloting the drone from the Sindangan struggled on deck to retrieve his aircraft that was being left behind. In a desperate maneuver, he landed the drone on deck, breaking one of its rotors.
For a few moments there was no movement on the part of the 21556 as the Sindangan drew away, its attention focused on the escaping resupply boats.
But the 21556 would soon enough accelerate toward the Sindangan, black smoke pouring out of the two exhaust ports on either side. Behind it, the great hulk of the 5305 followed, gray smoke billowing from its smokestacks. As the 21556 drew abreast, it approached at an angle intersecting the path of the PCG ship. It drew close, churning the sea in its wake, and suddenly cut across the Sindangan's bow missing it by a few meters.
Black smoke from its engines wafted over the Sindangan's deck as the smaller ship cut its engines and swerved to avoid the collision.
"Talagang mga bastos!!! (They are really rude!!!)," shouted one cameraman who was scurrying to carry his equipment to the bow area.
With the Sindangan's path blocked, the 5305 and the blue militia ship finally caught up and took turns keeping in front of the PCG ship.
When the Sindangan tried to turn right, the 21556 reversed its engines and stayed in front of its bow. By this time both ships were only around 20 meters away from each other. We could see the CCG personnel taking pictures and shooting video of the people on deck, including my fellow journalists who gamely posed and waved at them.
"Do you have anything to say, sirs? Nihao?" I shouted at the Chinese who offered no reaction as their ship hovered a few meters from our bow.
Several of the journalists flashed peace signs at the Chinese.
Further back, the BRP Cabra had also been blocked by two CCG ships and three fishing boats.
Up close, we were able to observe the blue fishing boats. The one blocking the Sindangan had huge fishing lights strung in several layers on either side. Large metal booms were kept folded and pristine on deck and the nets rolled and stowed. The winches were covered in tarps and there was no showing of the crew. A water cannon was perched on top of the mast just above the white domes of the navigational equipment and cameras.
Commonplace maneuvers
The commanding officer of the BRP Cabra, Commander Emmanuel Dangate, would later tell us that these maneuvers were commonplace during the resupply missions.
"We always encounter dangerous maneuvers, shadowing activities and blocking, not only from the CCG vessels, but also from China militia vessels," he said.
Asked how he and his crew felt to be at the frontlines of asserting our sovereignty over Ayungin, Dangate had an even shorter answer: "During this kind of mission, it ignites our patriotism, our dedication to serving the government."
Aboard the Sindangan, the air was relaxed as we weathered the stand-off, the three Chinese ships constantly maneuvering to block its path.
"It would be wrong to say we don't feel any fear when we do these missions," one of the crew speaking in Tagalog earlier told us.
"However it's something we have to do for our country," he added.
In the distance the two UM resupply ships had regrouped and resumed their side by side formation making their way towards Ayungin. Another Chinese Coast Guard ship seemed to give chase but was too far away to intercept.
Eventually the two wooden boats reached the shallower waters of the shoal where none of the steel-hulled Chinese vessels could follow.
READ: AFP says latest resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal successful
The PCG would later tell us that the same ship deployed a rigid hull inflatable boat to chase the resupply ships inside the shoal but ended up running aground on the reef and had to be rescued.
READ: ‘KARMA’: AFP: Chinese boat got entangled while tailing PH vessels
PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela described the Chinese strategy in Ayungin as dangerous and illegal.
Unlike the August 5 resupply mission, the Chinese did not use water cannons against the resupply ships, something Tarriela thinks may have to do with the international backlash, following the reporting of the incident in the global media.
However he said it would be inaccurate to interpret Chinese actions in Ayungin as being restrained.
"They didn't use water cannon this time so are we going to be thankful they didn't use water cannons? Can we say they are deescalating now? I don't think so. They remain to be aggressive. Whether this is increasing tension or not, whatever they have been doing since then and now remains illegal," Tarriela said.
The UMs would reach the BRP Sierra Madre past 11 in the morning and deliver its cargo. Before 4 in the afternoon, the two resupply ships would rejoin the PCG ships and head back to Sabina Shoal. As we left Ayungin, another PLAN warship was seen in the distance while several CCG ships trailed behind, only their outlines visible in the horizon.
In two weeks time, another resupply mission will be underway to Ayungin and the same ships that played chicken within the Philippine EEZ will be the primary actors in the high drama of the seas: the irresistible might of a global superpower bearing down on a smaller nation with less might but with a stronger right under international law. —KG, GMA Integrated News
