The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) disclosed on Saturday that it was unable to operate its drones during the August 11 collision of two Chinese vessels in Bajo de Masinloc, citing possible signal jamming.
PCG West Philippine Sea spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said they suspect China disrupted the drones to stop the incident from being recorded.
“This time around, we were not able to launch drones. It’s because we believed that [the] Chinese [were] blocking our drones [from taking] off,” Tarriela said during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.
“We were unable to fly the drone to record the incident and to document the illegal actions of the People’s Republic of China (PROC).”
Tarriela said it was the first time PCG encountered suspected electronic jamming in the area.
“We are now evaluating how we can still launch drones and prevent the PROC from disrupting our signals,” he said.
Tarriela earlier stressed that the Philippines was not responsible for the collision between a People’s Liberation Army Navy vessel and a China Coast Guard ship near Bajo de Masinloc.
He said tension arises only from Beijing’s “dangerous actions and illegal presence” inside the country’s exclusive economic zone.
“We’re not provoking anybody. The reason why there is tension [is] because of dangerous actions and illegal presence within our exclusive economic zone,” Tarriela said.
