MANILA (2nd UPDATE) — A Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel fired its water cannon near a Philippine Coast Guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea on Thursday morning.
PCG Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela reported that another CCG vessel conducted a dangerous maneuver near a PCG vessel on the same day.
However, Tarriela clarified that no injuries were reported and that the PCG-BFAR vessels completed their fuel subsidy mission for Filipino fishing boats in the area.
“But as I said, despite of such muscle flexing, threatening the BFAR vessel to change its course, we still proceeded to the mission, and that is to provide fuel subsidy to the Filipino fishermen,” he said.
During a simultaneous maritime domain awareness flight conducted by the PCG on Thursday, three Chinese Coast Guard vessels and two Chinese maritime militia vessels (MMVs) were spotted northeast of Bajo de Masinloc.
One of the Chinese MMVs was observed near the fishing activities of Filipino fishing boats aboard MV Mamalakaya.
Two buoys were also detected north and northwest of Scarborough Shoal.
As the PCG aircraft reached approximately 35 nautical miles west of Zambales, the Chinese Coast Guard began issuing radio challenges.
Despite the reported harassment by Chinese vessels, Tarriela maintained that the Coast Guard would continue to stand firm in protecting the country’s territorial waters.
“The Chinese is the one who escalates the tension, carry out unlawful activities. So, we are just on the receiving end of the Chinese illegal activities and harassment…. And if there's one thing I can share with you, it's that it never prevented our Coast Guard from still pushing for our rights and still maintaining our presence in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.
In a separate statement, the Chinese Embassy in Manila reiterated that it was the Philippine vessels that ignored the warning issued by the China Coast Guard, and the action was “done according to law.”
“CCG took necessary measures, including tracking, monitoring, taking control measures and expelling the Philippine vessels in accordance with the law. The on-site operations were professional, standardized, lawful and legitimate. Huangyan Dao is China's inherent territory. We urge the Philippine side to immediately stop its infringing and provocative acts,” it said.
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