PH to protest China’s attack on BFAR vessel
The Philippines will protest a China Coast Guard (CCG) ship’s attack on a fisheries vessel off Pag-asa Island on Sunday morning which the United States and European Union condemned as an “aggressive” and “dangerous” action.
Nobody was injured when the CCG ship fired its water cannon then rammed and slightly damaged BRP Datu Pagbuaya, one of three Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessels providing protection for local fishermen on the Philippines-inhabited island.
Angelica Escalona, spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs, told reporters on Sunday that Manila would lodge a protest against Beijing over its ship’s “deliberate ramming” of the BFAR vessel in the territorial sea of Pag-asa (Thitu).
The National Maritime Council (NMC) called the CCG’s “illegal and reckless actions” a “grave concern” for the country.
“China must be sincere and hold true to its call for dialogue and consultation by demonstrating constructive actions and desisting from all provocative actions,” the council said in a statement.
The NMC is an interagency body formed by President Marcos to boost the country’s maritime security in the face of China’s increasing aggression in the waters within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
There was no immediate statement from China, which claims virtually the entire South China Sea and continues to ignore a 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated its claim.
‘Bullying tactics’
A video issued by the Philippine coast guard showed the CCG ship firing a water cannon and hitting the vessel and its two Philippine flags, as the Filipino-manned ship sought to move away.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said the CCG and suspected militia vessels sailed “dangerously close” to the three BFAR vessels, then anchored in the waters off Pag-asa, and staged “dangerous and provocative maneuvers” at past 8 a.m. on Sunday.
The situation escalated an hour later when the CCG vessel with bow number 21559 fired its water cannon directly at the Pagbuaya before “deliberately ramming” its stern, “causing minor structural damage but no injuries to the crew,” Tarriela said.
“Despite these bullying tactics and aggressive actions, the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources remain resolute,” he said. “We will not be intimidated or driven away.”
PCG commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan said “The harassment we faced today only strengthens our resolve.”
“Filipino fisherfolk depend on these waters and neither water cannons nor ramming will deter us from fulfilling our commitment to President Ferdinand Marcos to not surrender a square inch of our territory to any foreign power,” Gavan said.
‘Routine maritime operations’
Pag-asa is the largest of nine islands, islets and reefs inhabited by Philippine forces and also has a fishing community in the Spratlys archipelago, the most fiercely disputed region of the South China Sea, where China turned seven barren reefs into island bases protected by a missile system. Three of the artificial islands have runways, including Subi, just more than 20 kilometers from Pag-asa, which China also claims.
The Philippines maintains Pag-asa as part of the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) of Palawan province. It serves as the seat of the Kalayaan municipal government and is home to 400 residents. It lies 445 km from Palawan’s capital Puerto Princesa.
“The Philippines is clearly within its rights to conduct routine maritime operations in and around Pag-asa Island, and will continue to do so,” the NMC said, referring to the 22-km territorial sea of the island. “China has no right to interfere with these lawful and routine activities.”
Familiar CCG vessel
The 155-meter CCG ship 21559 had been tagged in a number of aggressive actions targeting smaller Philippine vessels.
On May 21, it fired a water cannon and sideswiped BFAR’s BRP Datu Sanday twice during its routine mission with a team of scientists near Pag-asa Cay (Sandy Cay), damaging the vessel’s port bow and smokestack.
On Dec. 4 last year, CCG 21559 was among seven Chinese ships that maneuvered to block BFAR’s BRP Romapenet from accessing Filipino fisherfolk in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal.
The CCG ship was also among those regularly patrolling Philippine waters, particularly near China-controlled Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal).
Manila filed a diplomatic protest against Beijing after one of its coast guard ships attacked a BFAR vessel during a supply mission near Scarborough Shoal on Sept. 16, injuring a crew member and damaging the vessel.
As of Sept. 18, the government has filed 241 diplomatic protests against China since July 2022 under the Marcos administration. —WITH REPORTS FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH AND AP
