PH civilian mission breaches China blockade, reaches Scarborough Shoal

The advance team of a Philippine civilian mission was able to break through the blockade of Chinese vessels and reached Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), mission organizer Atin Ito Coalition said Thursday.

"Despite China's massive blockade, we managed to breach their illegal blockade, reaching Bajo de Masinloc to support our fishers with essential supplies. Mission accomplished!" Atin Ito co-convenor and Akbayan president Rafaela David said in a statement.

"This stands as a testament to the ingenuity, resourcefulness and bravery of the Filipino spirit amidst formidable challenges," she added. 

Around 200 volunteers and 100 fishermen aboard five wooden bancas and 100 smaller boats set sail from Masinloc in Zambales on Wednesday morning en route to Panatag Shoal, which is also called Scarborough Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc.

A day before the official start of the civilian mission, an advance team set sail on Tuesday, according to Atin Ito.

The advance team arrived 25 to 30 nautical miles of the general vicinity of Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday.

“They swiftly delivered crucial provisions, including fuel and food, to Filipino fishers working in the area. Their efforts resulted in the distribution of 1,000 liters of diesel and 200 food packs,” the organizer said.

According to Joseph Morong's report Thursday on 24 Oras, three China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels emerged from the direction of Scarborough Shoal after the Atin Ito contingent distributed supplies in the vicinity of Masinloc.

The CCG ships moved closer, but the Filipino fishermen on their small, wooden boats were unfazed.

"Atin ito! Atin ito!" the fishermen shouted at the direction of the Chinese ships.

Main convoy

Meanwhile, the main convoy of the civilian mission no longer proceeded to Scarborough Shoal because Chinese vessels already drove away the fishermen who were supposed to receive another round of supplies there.

"Our boat captains got report na wala na raw mga Pinoy na mangingisda sa Bajo de Masinloc ngayon kasi pinapaalis sila ng mga Chinese Coast Guard, militia, at iba pang mga marine vessels," one of the organizers, Emman Hizon, told GMA News Online in a phone interview.

(Our boat captains got a report that there are no more Filipino fishermen in Bajo de Masinloc now because the Chinese Coast Guard, militia, and other marine vessels drove them away.)

"So there is no point of going near, yung main convoy, because it is no longer there (So there is no point for the main convoy to go near Scarborough Shoal because the fishermen are no longer there)," he added.

The main convoy is set to conduct its last round of supply distribution in its current location and proceed to Subic fishport, which marks the end of the civilian mission, according to Hizon.

On Thursday, former US Air Force official and former Defense Attaché Ray Powell, who is monitoring the situation in the WPS, said 43 Chinese vessels, including a warship, moved to Scarborough Shoal to block the Filipino civilian mission.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Powell said there were one People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ship, eight China Coast Guard vessels, and 34 Chinese militia vessels  around Scarborough Shoal.

Aside from giving out supplies to fishermen in the area, the group laid out 12 symbolic orange buoys painted with the words "WPS ATIN ITO!" (The West Philippine Sea Is Ours!).

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wengbin on Wednesday warned the Philippines regarding its activities in the area.

“If the Philippines abuses China’s goodwill and infringes upon China’s territorial sovereignty and jurisdiction, we will defend our rights and take countermeasures in accordance with the law,” he said in a press conference in Beijing.

“Relevant responsibilities and consequences shall be borne solely by the Philippines,” he added.

Scarborough Shoal is a place of tension between the Philippines and China, as Filipino frontliners were harassed and fishers were shooed away by China in the area.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Its territorial claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

Manila calls parts of the waters within its exclusive economic zone as West Philippine Sea.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in the Hague ruled that China's claims over South China Sea has no legal basis, a decision Beijing does not recognize.

—KBK/ VAL/ VDV, GMA Integrated News