The Philippine Coast Guard will continue to expose Chinese excursions in the West Philippine Sea, as it and the Armed Forces of the Philippines are set to increase their joint patrols to the Del Pilar Reef and Escoda Shoal, where Chinese militia vessels were spotted swarming ahead of a suspected occupation.
PCG West Philippine Sea spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said the Coast Guardians’ “transparency initiative” on Chinese incursions is part of its strategy to drive China’s ships away from the WPS islands.
“We realized that for the Philippine government to drive them away is for us to expose them in public, create public awareness, and for them to be criticized by the international community,” Tarriela said.
This would then be followed by maritime patrols by both the PCG and the AFP, he added in a TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview, noting that the swarms of Chinese ships may be a precursor to an illegal occupation of the resource-rich Recto (Reed) Bank.
Tarriela pointed out that Iroquois Reef is only 128 nautical miles away from the mainland of Palawan province, and thus falls within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The PCG may deploy its 97-meter and 44-meter coast guard vessels in follow-up operations to drive the Chinese vessels away from Philippine territory, he added.
The Philippines and China should come up with an amicable arrangement to prevent the “megaphone war” in the WPS from turning into a violent encounter, international studies analyst Rommel Banlaoi said over the weekend.
“The purpose of coordinated approach is to avoid accidents and prevent actualities in the area. What’s happening on the ground is what’s called a megaphone war… if the situation continues like that, then that will really raise risk of unintended violent encounter at sea,” the professor told ABS-CBN News.
Meanwhile, an Italian Marina Militare ship made a port visit to the Philippines on July 8, as Rome assured Manila its support to freedom of navigation amid the activities of China that are seen as threats to rules-based order.
The Philippine Navy welcomed the Italian vessel ITS Francesco Morosini, a Paolo Thaon di Revel-class offshore patrol vessel.
The ship arrived at the Port of Manila for a five-day stay as the Italian Ministry of Defense and Navy aimed to strengthen its “cooperation with the Philippine Armed Forces and the Department of National Defense,” its embassy in the Philippines said.
“Morosini’s visit reinforces the cooperation between Italy and the Philippines in order to promote naval diplomacy along with freedom of navigation, respect for the international law of the sea and a safe and inclusive Indo-Pacific,” the Italian Embassy said.
Lt. Karla Andres, a co-pilot of the Philippine Navy’s light patrol aircraft, said the 48 Chinese fishing vessels seen near Del Pilar (Iroquois) Reef and Escoda (Sabina) Shoal through an air patrol conducted on June 30 were observed to be “anchored in groups of five to seven and no fishing activities were noticed.”
Based on reports of earlier Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) flights, the AFP’s Western Command said the number of Chinese fishing vessels in the area had increased from 12 in February to 47 on June 12.
“These Chinese maritime militia [vessels], that’s their usual strategic objective. That is for them to occupy a particular maritime feature, to swarm the area for a very long period of time. if you don’t notice them, they will increase their number eventually,” Tarriela said.
In a separate interview with DZBB on Saturday, the PCG spokesperson said this is not the first time such a maneuver has been done by China.
“In our analysis, their intention is to swarm a particular area and to take control of it,” the commodore said.
However, he also said this was the first time the PCG saw a large number of Chinese vessels in the area.
Aside from Chinese fishing vessels, three China Coast Guard (CCG) ships and two People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) vessels were seen “regularly loitering” near Sabina Shoal, according to the AFP Wescom.
“Once we publicize these events, the international community condemns them, and various embassies criticize such activities of China. When we follow up with the deployment of our government assets, they leave immediately,” Tarriela added.
Both the AFP and PCG recently reported the presence of Chinese vessels in Philippine waters inside its EEZ. According to Tarriela, this helped make it easier for them to drive vessels away, noting that the Chinese government was “very conscious” of its international reputation.
“This has been a tool for us to make sure that China’s aggressive behavior and bullying activities in the West Philippine Sea will be criticized by the international community,” he said.
“Iroquois Reef is the southern part of Recto Bank where we have a lot of service contracts when it comes to oil exploration,” Tarriela explained.
“Recto Bank is a vital feature within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, and China must cease its swarming of vessels to respect our sovereign rights,” said Wescom spokesperson Commander Ariel Coloma.
