PH: China deployed Navy ships to shadow PCG in WPS

The Philippines on Wednesday accused China of sending its Navy ships to shadow vessels at the Bajo de Masinloc.

National Maritime Council Spokesperson Undersecretary Alexander Lopez noted that this was the first time that People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy vessels “came quite near and participated in the blocking or aggressive movements of the Chinese vessels.”

“Before, the PLA Navy, kumbaga nasa background lang sila. (They were only in the background.) Rightly so… What we would not want to happen is actually, when you put a Navy vessel against a Navy vessel, it will only escalate tension,” he said.

PCG Spokesperson on the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said that the PLA ship was seen shadowing PCG vessel 9701 from 300 yards away at around 7:20 a.m. as it made its way to BRP Datu Pagbuaya that had been subjected to water cannons and sidesweeping by Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ships.

“There are two PLA Navy [vessels]. The PLA Navy 500 and 567, however the PLA 500 is the only vessel that we documented who are doing shadowing, and the PLA Navy 567 kept a distance of 7 nautical miles away from the presence of the PCG vessel,” said Tarriela.

“On those 2 incidents that the Chinese government did, from water cannoning [to] the sidesweeping, this is just clear evidence that it is not the Philippines that aggressively deployed our vessel. The one that is aggressive here, the one that is provocative and escalating tensions in Bajo de Masinloc are Chinese Coast Guard vessels,” Tarriela added.

"Infringements"

The Chinese Embassy in Manila, meanwhile, said that the CCG had warned the Philippines to ''immediately halt its infringements, provocations and inflammatory actions.''

This, as Beijing claimed that a Philippine vessel ''intentionally rammed into a CCG ship in waters around China's Huangyan Dao on Wednesday.''

"Otherwise, the Philippines will be held accountable for all consequences arising from this," CCG spokesperson Liu Dejun said.

China urges Philippines to halt provocation after ship-ramming incident

The China Coast Guard (CCG) has warned Manila to immediately halt its infringements, provocations and inflammatory actions after a Philippine vessel intentionally rammed into a CCG ship in waters around…

— ChineseEmbassyManila (@Chinaembmanila) December 4, 2024

Huangyan Dao is China's name for Scarborough Shoal.

Beijing also claimed that Philippine vessels had attempted to intrude into Chinese territorial waters. It said that CCG forces had acted lawfully to control the situation.

It said “four Philippine coast guard and official vessels attempted to enter China's territorial waters off Huangyan Dao and approached Chinese law enforcement patrol ships in a dangerous manner.”
 

"Illegal"

Lopez assured that the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources are still able to address the issues and that the country will course through proper diplomatic channels and mechanisms in case of unfavorable events.

“We can only surmise na they really want to drag the message na kanila yun. (that it is theirs.) It’s really based on fantasy. It’s not theirs. These are waters that are clearly within our jurisdiction. Their presence there is illegal, what the PLA Navy is doing there is illegal, what the CCG is doing there is illegal. Their mere presence there in the area is actually illegal,” Lopez said.

“That area is definitely ours. We are anchoring our claim, our jurisdiction, our sovereignty and sovereign rights on the UNCLOS and the 2016 arbitral ruling. While they are trying to claim that area, we deem it as illegal."

China claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis."

Beijing has not recognized the decision as it continues its activities and hostile actions in the region.

—VAL, GMA Integrated News