China has beefed up its presence in the West Philippine Sea, deploying a People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) helicopter as well as another China Coast Guard (CCG) ship, which Manila described as “provocative” actions.
This as the Philippine Coast Guard continued to challenge the biggest CCG vessel 5901, dubbed “The Monster,” which moved to 90 nautical miles offshore of Zambales on Wednesday.
“Despite the PCG’s efforts to address the illegal presence of the CCG vessel through measured law enforcement operations, the People’s Republic of China has provocatively deployed a People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) helicopter, tail number 47, which hovered above the PCG vessel,” PCG spokesperson for the WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela said.
PCG’s BRP Cabra has been shadowing CCG 5901 since it came as close to about 50 nautical miles from the Luzon coastline over the weekend with its “intrusive partol” further east of Scarborough Shoal.
The “Monster” ship, however, was immediately replaced by CCG 3103, which left Guangdong province in China on Tuesday and headed to CCG 5901’s previous location.
“As of 3 PM today (Wednesday), CCG-3103 was detected by Canada’s Dark Vessel Detection at a distance of 60 nautical miles from Pundaquit, Zambales. This indicates that CCG-3103 is likely serving as a replacement vessel for the monster ship, thereby sustaining its illegal presence within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone,” Tarriela said.
To address this development, PCG commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan ordered the deployment of an Islander aircraft to confirm the presence of CCG 3103 in the area. BRP Cabra is also en route to the location of the new Chinese coast guard vessel to monitor and challenge its presence, Tarriela said.
“The Philippine Coast Guard remains resolutely committed to safeguarding our sovereign rights and will not allow the presence of the Chinese Coast Guard vessel to infringe upon our maritime jurisdiction,” Tarriela added.
The heightened incursions in the WPS came days after China warned the Philippines against acquiring a Typhon mid-range capability (MRC) missile system from the United States.
“Our message to the Philippines: China will not sit on its hands when its security interests are in danger or under threat. The Philippines will be hurting its own interests if it keeps refusing to change course,” China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said late December.
Mao said that for the Philippines to maintain “strategic independence, good-neighborliness and friendship, and peaceful development,” it must remove the missile system.
The MRC missile system would allow the Philippine Army to protect vessels up to 370 kilometers or 200 nautical miles off the coast – the limit of the Philippines’ maritime entitlement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro earlier told Beijing to stop its “saber-rattling” and “interference” in Manila’s internal affairs.
“The Philippines is a sovereign state, not any country’s ‘doorstep,’” Teodoro said in a statement. “Any deployment and procurement of assets related to the Philippines’ security and defense fall within its own sovereign prerogative and are not subject to any foreign veto.”
As this developed, House Assistant Majority Leader and Zambales Rep. Jefferson Khonghun on Wednesday expressed outrage over the deployment of CCG vessels, calling it an alarming display of Chinese aggression and intrusion into Philippine territory and its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“This is the extreme of aggression. China has no right to enter our territory and EEZ,” said Khonghun in Tagalog.
“These ships are a symbol of bullying that we must not overlook,” he added.
