A MARITIME domain awareness flight by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) on Wednesday spotted only two China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS), said the significantly reduced Chinese presence in the area was likely due to the rough sea conditions brought by recent typhoons.
“The main reason why the usual number ng China Coast Guard vessel deployment in Bajo de Masinloc was the bad weather condition, the current sea condition in BDM, I don’t think the CCG vessels can also withstand such heavy sea conditions at Bajo de Masinloc,” Tarriela told reporters in a phone interview.
No People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy and Chinese maritime militia vessels were detected during the flight.
Unlike in past missions, Chinese aircraft did not tail the BFAR plane.
“Tarriela noted that CCG presence in Bajo de Masinloc began declining following the spate of storms that recently hit the Philippines.
The two previously spotted buoys installed by Chinese maritime forces remain in position in Bajo de Masinloc, Tarriela further reported.
He pointed out that one of the buoys was at the northern part of Bajo while the other was at the center of the shoal.
The official also said the PCG-BFAR patrol did not detect any floating barrier at the entrance to Bajo de Masinloc.
“What is also worth mentioning is that there is no barrier right now at the entrance to the Bajo de Masinloc,” Tarriela said.
Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal or Panatag Shoal, is located 124 nautical miles west of mainland Zambales, well within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
On the other hand, it is 472 nautical miles from Hainan Province, China’s nearest land mass.
The shoal, however, has been under Beijing’s control since 2012.
