The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) clarified over the weekend that neither Philippine aircraft nor vessels were expelled from the Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc, rejecting claims made by the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG).
Tarriela made the statement after both PCG and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) aircraft voluntarily departed Bajo de Masinloc after completing their mission of delivering fresh provisions to Filipino fishermen. He denied it was a result of an expulsion order from the CCG.
“The PCG vessels and BFAR aircraft conducted legitimate patrols in our waters at Bajo de Masinloc to ensure the safety and security of Filipino fishermen,” said PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela in an interview with GMA 7 aired on Saturday, December 21.
China reportedly claimed that a Philippine aircraft entered what it described as part of its territorial airspace. According to the CCG, a Philippine C-208 aircraft flew over the Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on Friday.
Bajo de Masinloc lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but China continues to assert territorial claims and exclusive governance rights over it, despite an international tribunal ruling in favor of Manila.
“The People’s Republic of China has no jurisdiction over Bajo De Masinloc, which is classified as a rock under the 2016 Arbitral Award and Article 121 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The Philippines has sovereignty over it, including its territorial sea,” Tarriela said.
“The waters beyond Bajo de Masinloc’s 12-nautical-mile territorial sea up to 200 nautical miles, fall within the Philippine EEZ, measured from Luzon’s baseline,” the PCG official added in a Facebook post on Friday.
