MANILA — Two vessels of the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) were sighted from the Atin Ito civilian mission ship on Tuesday morning.
CCG vessel with bow number 3306 only had 3 nautical miles of distance from the Atin Ito ship while CCG 21549 was 5 nautical miles away at around 8 a.m.
They were seen 45 nautical miles away off the coast off El Nido, Palawan, inside the Philippine exclusive economic zone.
China sent radio challenges to the Atin Ito Ship, driving the civilian mission away.
WRAP: As ‘Atin Ito’ ships out, an online debate rages on protecting the West Philippine Sea
Captain Jorge dela Cruz of the T/S Kapitan Felix Oca said the mission would continue.
"Continue pa rin naman tayo sa voyage plan natin approaching going to Pag-asa Island pero imagine, 40 miles off pa lang tayo, eto na," Dela Cruz said.
(We will continue with our voyage plan approaching Pag-asa Island but imagine, we're just 40 miles off and they are already here.)
"Inoobserbahan nila tayo, ano ang destinasyon natin, aware na sila sa operation natin ngayon," he added.
(They are observing us, our destination. It seems China is already aware of our operation today.)
Third civilian mission to bring 'peace and solidarity concert' in West Philippine Sea
Two Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels, the BRP Melchora Aquino and BRP Malapascua, were closely escorting the Atin Ito ship.
Based on speed and barring any dangerous maneuvers, the Atin Ito mission will arrive at the vicinity of Pag-asa Island at around 2 p.m. Wednesday.