China prepping to monitor PH-US coast guard drills
A 135-meter China Coast Guard (CCG) ship has inched closer to the Philippines, likely positioning itself to monitor an upcoming joint exercise by the Philippine and US coast guards, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said on Monday.
The Philippine and US coast guards have conducted capacity-building exercises in the West Philippine Sea in recent years and the presence of Chinese vessels were a common sight during those drills.
Maritime security expert Ray Powell, director of the SeaLight project of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation who has been monitoring South China Sea activities through satellite imaging, said the CCG 5303 was tracked about 111 kilometers (60 nautical miles) west of Lubang Island or northwest of Mindoro at 4:20 p.m. on Sunday and has been conducting an “intrusive patrol.”
As of Monday afternoon, the Chinese vessel was still around the area. SeaLight has described the “intrusive patrolling” by the CCG as “a key component of China’s strategy to reinforce its expansive maritime claims in disputed waters.”
‘Provocative actions’
CCG 5303 was the same vessel involved in “provocative actions and illegal monitoring” of Philippine ships conducting a hydrographic survey in April. It also used water cannons against PCG ships near Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) in a separate incident in the same month.
Also on Sunday, the PCG’s 97-meter BRP Melchora Aquino concluded a two-day patrol some 20 to 25 nautical miles east of Bajo de Masinloc, Powell said on X (formerly Twitter).
It was closely tailed by 110-meter CCG 4302, preventing it from coming closer to the shoal. China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, overlapping its claims with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.
Beijing continues to ignore the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated its sweeping claims.
Courtesy call
On July 11, US Coast Guard Pacific Area commander Vice Adm. Andrew Tiongson paid a courtesy call on PCG commandant Adm. Ronnie Gil Gavan at the PCG headquarters, ahead of the coast guard drills between Manila and Washington.
The two officials discussed continued partnership, which is “deeply rooted in strong historical and cultural ties,” the PCG said in a statement.
“I firmly believe that this engagement will further improve and intensify our collaboration on maritime security, reinforcing our very strong commitment for ensuring regional stability and peace,” Gavan was quoted as saying.
The PCG chief looked back on how the present collaboration has expanded “beyond technical and operational training for the officers to include major infrastructure development.”
US deployment
In May, the PCG inaugurated a P54-million vessel maintenance facility at Sangley Point in Cavite province, a project funded by the US government through the Joint US Military Assistance Group-Philippines.
Last June, the PCG announced that their US counterpart will deploy its assets to support the government’s efforts in ensuring the safety of local fishermen in the West Philippine Sea amid the implementation of China’s antitrespassing policy that encroaches on the country’s exclusive economic zone.
“The USCG shared they will deploy their North Pacific Coast Guard to support the PCG in upholding its sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea,” the PCG said in a statement.
However, the PCG said the specifics of the deployment, such as the total number of personnel and the type of vessels to be brought by the US coast guard, remain unclear.
