PCG successfully reaches Ayungin Shoal after evading Chinese vessels

ON BOARD BRP MELCHORA AQUINO - Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel successfully entered Ayungin Shoal on Friday after evading up to 15 China Coast Guard vessels and Chinese militia vessels.

This allowed them to go near the BRP Sierra Madre and see the latest state of the grounded active naval post.

The PCG escorted two boats on a resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II ship grounded at the shoal since 1999 that stands as a symbol of the Philippines’ claim to the West Philippine Sea.

“They were successful in completing the mission yesterday, despite attempts by five China Coast Guard vessels and 28 Chinese maritime militia boats to recklessly harass, block, and execute dangerous maneuvers in another attempt to illegally impede or obstruct a routine resupply and rotation mission to BRP Sierra Madre,” PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan said in a media briefing.

"Further, the Philippine Coast Guard and the Armed Forces of the Philippines closely monitored the presence of four People Liberation Army Navy vessels, including a hospital ship, a corvette-type vessel, and a missile boat, within the immediate vicinity of Ayungin Shoal,” he added.

PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gavan says deploying bigger BRP Melchora Aquino to November 10 mission is routine @gmanews @24OrasGMA pic.twitter.com/l6V8JFGaPw

— Joseph Morong ???????? (@Joseph_Morong) November 11, 2023

Several media representatives on board three rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIB) from the PCG also joined the mission, which provided a rare view of the vessel that is currently at the center of tensions in the West Philippine Sea between China and the Philippines.

GMA Integrated News boarded one RHIB from BRP Melchora Aquino, a 97-meter MRRV (multi-role rescue vessel) recently purchased from Japan. The BRP Melchora Aquino joined the resupply mission for the first time to escort the vessels delivering supplies.

BRP Melchora Aquino, a 97-meter MRRV recently purchased by the Philippines joins the November 10 resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal. Its namesake aka Tandang Sora is a Filipina revolutionary and Mother of the Katipunan mov’t which led the uprising vs Spanish foreign rule @gmanews pic.twitter.com/bI58ndYN7L

— Joseph Morong ???????? (@Joseph_Morong) November 11, 2023

The vessel is named after Filipina revolutionary Melchora Aquino or Tandang Sora, considered the mother of Katipunan, which rebelled against Spanish rule. 

Its joining the mission follows a collision last October between a China Coast Guard vessel and Unaiza May 2, one of two indigenous supply boats contracted by the Philippines.

“Her deployment really depends on the magnitude of operations we have there. So, in that instance, it was part of her routine movement,” Gavan said.

“We are not discounting the possibility that she will also be part of other missions, but it can’t be a standard. The deployment will really depend on various factors. It is not the first time that we sent 97-meter (Melchora Aquino) in the area; it is routine, as we have said,” he added.

On Friday, only one indigenous boat from the October resupply mission, the Unaiza May 1, participated.

Taking the place of Unaiza May 2 in Friday's mission is a rescue vessel from the local government of Kalayaan, the M/L Kalayaan (Freedom in English).

A China Coast Guard vessel fired a water cannon on Friday at M/L Kalayaan while it was on its way to Ayungin Shoal.

Philippine officials quickly condemned the incident and asked the involved Chinese vessel to immediately leave Ayungin Shoal.

China Coast Guard vessels also deployed RHIBs and kept a close watch over Filipino forces, sometimes cutting close to the Filipino vessels to take videos and photos of the personnel.

BRP Sierra Madre dilapidated

From a short distance, BRP Sierra Madre sits atop Ayungin Shoal, dilapidated and weathered.

LOOK: World War II-era vessel and active Navy post BRP Sierra Madre sits atop Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. Philippine Coast Guard personnel gained access to the shoal despite harassment from China Coast Guard and militia vessels in a resupply mission y’day @gmanews pic.twitter.com/fD1FScbHpt

— Joseph Morong ???????? (@Joseph_Morong) November 11, 2023

Several soldiers assigned to the area were seen milling around and going about their daily lives.

The Philippine flag flies proudly atop the active Navy outpost.

China has called on the Philippines to remove the ship saying it was illegally grounded in Chinese territory.

Ayungin Shoal, however, is inside the Philippines’ 200-km exclusive economic zone based on the 2016 Arbitral Award and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

China has consistently tried to block and harass resupply ships going to Ayungin Shoal.

It has also said a past Philippine government leader had previously promised to remove the grounded vessel, a claim denied by previous Philippine presidents.

Philippine officials rejected China's claim, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. saying that any such deal, if there was any, is considered rescinded.

The Philippine government said the resupply mission is an exercise of its jurisdiction as it rejects China’s illegal blockade and harassment. —with Jamil Santos/KG/VBL, GMA Integrated News