The presence of the China Coast Guard (CCG) persists despite the effort of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to block them and assist the four main vessels of the second civilian resupply mission of the Atin Ito Coalition to the Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on May 15, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA -- The Philippine Navy on Tuesday said it has monitored a "normal presence" of Chinese coast guard and maritime militia vessels in the vicinity of Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea.
"Ito ay malapit sa Subi Reef. So, at any one time, you would notice that there are a good number of maritime militia vessels and China Coast Guard (CCG)," Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
"There's been no significant increase. May presence pa rin doon but no significant increase in the numbers," he added.
Subi Reef is located outside the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) but is part of Pag-asa Island's 12-nautical mile territorial sea.
On Tuesday morning, two CCG ships were sighted from the Philippine ship carrying Atin Ito volunteers en route to Pag-asa Island, where the group is set to hold their first-ever "Sea Concert for Peace and Solidarity."
CCG 3306 and CCG 21549 were spotted only 3 and 5 nautical miles away, respectively, from the T/S Felix Oca.
READ: PCG vessels to escort 'Atin Ito' mission to West PH Sea; group says China 'invited'
Two Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels—BRP Melchora Aquino and BRP Malapascua—are behind the T/S Felix Oca to ensure the safety of the Atin Ito Coalition's third civilian mission.
"Atin Ito is a civil society effort. They have done all the coordination with the appropriate government agencies prior to the conduct of the activity. We fully support them," Trinidad said.
He also assured that the Armed Forces of the Philippines' (AFP) Western Command (WESCOM) is closely monitoring the activity and is prepared with contingency measures in place.
The WESCOM is responsible for overseeing Palawan province and the Kalayaan Island Group in the West Philippine Sea.
"The Philippine Navy, the AFP, and even other government agencies in the maritime domain are prepared to respond to support anything that they would need while conducting their concert at sea," Trinidad said.
"We would like to also encourage other civic society groups to show their support to the government's stand in the West Philippine Sea by conducting similar activities that would send a message to our internal audience and even the international community," he added.
READ: 2 Chinese Coast Guard vessels sighted from Atin Ito civilian mission ship
PATTERN OF AGGRESSION
Although Trinidad said they have not monitored any possible threat to Atin Ito's third civilian mission, he noted that the actions of Chinese vessels have a pattern of aggressive and coercive maneuvers in the West Philippine Sea.
The official has observed that whenever the Philippines sails with its ally and partner nations in the West Philippine Sea, a new incident of Chinese harassment would follow.
"The pattern of aggression of the CCG and the maritime militia happens after a maritime cooperative activity (MCA). Each time there's an MCA, there is a change in their behavior, but after the MCA, they resume their aggressive and coercive actions. That has been the pattern of aggression by the CCG and CMM," Trinidad said.
The Philippines and the United States conducted their sixth MCA on May 20.
A day after, a CCG vessel blocked, fired water cannon and sideswiped the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources' (BFAR) BRP Datu Sanday in the vicinity of Sandy Cay.
The Philippine vessel was conducting marine scientific research in the Pag-asa Cays when the incident happened.
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