THE PHILIPPINE Coast Guard (PCG) drove away a Chinese fishing vessel and four smaller boats found fishing in waters off Lawak Island in the Spratly Islands on Thursday, marking the latest encounter involving foreign vessels in Philippine-claimed waters.
PCG spokesman Jay Tristan Tarriela said personnel stationed on Lawak Island, internationally known as Nanshan Island, spotted Chinese fishing vessel YUETAIYU 63168 anchored near the island.
Coast Guard personnel deployed a rubber boat to document the vessel and order it to leave the area, he said in a Facebook post.
Upon approaching the vessel, the team spotted four smaller boats scattered nearby, which authorities believed had been deployed from the Chinese vessel to conduct fishing activities.
PCG personnel repeatedly challenged the Chinese vessel by radio and circled it three times but received no response.
The team then moved to drive away the four smaller boats.
“The PCG team did not leave the area until the Chinese fishing vessel heaved in its anchor and departed,” Mr. Tarriela said.
The smaller boats were subsequently seen returning to the Chinese vessel, which raised its anchor and sailed out of the island.
Coast Guard personnel returned to Lawak Island without incident, he added.
Mr. Tarriela said Lawak Island is part of the municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan province in the Philippines’ west, where the Southeast Asian nation exercises sovereignty over its territorial waters.
He said foreign vessels are prohibited from conducting unauthorized fishing activities in Philippine territorial waters under domestic and international law.
“The deployment of small boats from a Chinese mother vessel to conduct fishing activities in these waters is a violation of Philippine laws, including the Philippine Fisheries Code and the Philippine Maritime Zones Act,” he said.
The encounter followed a series of Coast Guard operations against foreign vessels near Philippine-occupied islands in the Spratlys.
PCG personnel drove away Chinese maritime militia vessel 9622 and its accompanying small boats from Loaita Island (Kota Island) in the South China Sea on Sept. 28 and Oct. 9.
The agency also drove away five foreign fishing vessels from the waters surrounding Kota Island on Oct. 11.
The PCG, working with the Philippine Navy and Philippine Marine Corps, intercepted the vessels after spotting one preparing to fish about 200 meters from the island’s shoreline.
Personnel from Coast Guard Station Kota deployed two rubber boats to challenge the vessels during the Oct. 11 operation.
The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea earlier condemned the Oct. 9 incident, accusing the Chinese vessels of unauthorized fishing and dumping waste at sea.
In an Oct. 10 statement, the task force said one sampan had approached within 250 meters of the island’s shoreline.
The task force said the repeated incursions underscored the need for sustained vigilance and a consistent response to activities challenging Philippine sovereignty.
Mr. Tarriela said the Coast Guard would continue monitoring YUETAIYU 63168 and conducting patrols against unauthorized fishing and other intrusions.
The agency said the operations were part of government efforts to protect Philippine territory and maritime rights in the South China Sea, a commitment President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. reiterated in his July 27 State of the Nation Address.
The PCG also cited the 2016 arbitral ruling, which rejected China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, as a basis for asserting Philippine maritime rights.
China has rejected the ruling and continues to assert sovereignty over much of the disputed waterway.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment.
‘DIRECT THREAT’
Meanwhile, Mr. Tarriela criticized Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan for suggesting that China could easily defeat the Philippines militarily if it chose to use force, calling his remarks a direct threat.
“Let us call this what it is — a foreign ambassador, on Philippine soil, before Filipino journalists, telling Filipinos that his country ‘may easily win’ if it chooses to use force against us,” he said in a separate Facebook post. “That is not reassurance. That is a direct threat, and wrapping it in ‘we love peace’ does not change what it is.”
Mr. Tarriela said the remarks were inappropriate for a diplomat accredited by the Philippine government.
“A guest who reminds his host that he could easily beat him up, but has graciously decided not to, is not describing friendship,” he said. “He is threatening the very country that received him and asking us to be grateful for it.”
The Coast Guard spokesman also rejected Mr. Jing’s suggestion that Filipinos should feel fortunate to have China as a neighbor, citing incidents involving Filipino fishermen and Coast Guard personnel in disputed waters.
He pointed to Filipino fishermen being driven away from Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal, and incidents involving Chinese vessels using water cannons, lasers and ramming maneuvers against Philippine vessels.
“No people feel fortunate when a larger neighbor repeatedly violates the law and then tells them to be thankful it was not worse,” Mr. Tarriela said.
He cited Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, which prohibits the threat or use of force against other states, and the 2016 arbitral ruling rejecting China’s expansive maritime claims.
“The Philippines does not measure its rights by the size of its neighbor’s military,” he said. “We measure them by international law. Not using force against a country whose rights you are already violating is not peace. It is coercion by other means.” — Pexcel John Bacon and Norman P. Aquino