Two Chinese Navy warships and four China Coast Guard (CCG) ships, along with several Chinese maritime militia vessels were spotted by a Philippine Coast Guard plane at the Scarborough Shoal.
A Chinese Navy vessel—a tanker with bow number 885—appeared to be conducting a replenishment operation with a CCG ship.
“We’re not certain whether this is part of the military training exercise they are doing between the PLA Navy and the CCG,” Tarriela noted.
Despite the illegal activities of Chinese ships and aircraft within the Philippines’ EEZ, the PCG said it will continue regular patrols to assert the country’s sovereign rights and protect Filipino fishermen in the West Philippine Sea.
“I don’t think that this illegal declaration or conduct of illegal exercises would be able to deter and stop the Philippine government in supporting the livelihood of the Filipino fishermen,” Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, told reporters in an interview.
He then continued, “There is no amount of declaration from the PLA Navy as to what activities they are going to do ang magpapahinto sa ating mga operasyon dito.”
Tariella said the PCG conducted a maritime domain awareness (MDA) flight to confirm reports that China is holding military drills in Bajo de Masinloc, an area well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“According to the information that we got from the Chinese Maritime Safety Administration, the PLA Navy will be conducting military training near Bajo de Masinloc at a distance of 26 nautical miles from southwest of BDM,” he said.
“The main reason why we decided to conduct an MDA flight is to verify their activities and to challenge such unlawful declaration of a military exercise within the EEZ of the Philippines,” Tarriella added.
During the flight, a PLA Navy helicopter tailed the PCG Islander aircraft for several minutes—a move Tarriela deemed dangerous.
“The deployment of a PLA Navy helicopter is a very dangerous act. We know for a fact na ang ginagawa ng PLA Navy sa pagsunod sa ating legitimate MDA flight is illegal and jeopardize[s] the safety of the crew of the PCG and the lives of journalists on board,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines confirmed that the structures seen in Bajo de Masinloc were built by the military in the 1990s.
Photos shared by the Philippine Navy showed that submerged portions of the structures were already covered in algae, while exposed parts have rusted over time.
The plan was to build an outpost within the shoal, but the project was never completed.
Bajo de Masinloc is located 124 nautical miles west of mainland Zambales.
On the other hand, it is 472 nautical miles from Hainan Province, China’s nearest land mass.
