China installed floating barriers anew at the southeast entrance of Bajo de Masinloc (also known as Scarborough shoal) in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said yesterday.
According to PCG Spokesperson for WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela, the barrier was observed during a maritime domain awareness flight by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
“What is worth noting is the Chinese Maritime Militia vessels that are inside Bajo de Masinloc installed once again the floating barriers. This is one of their precautionary measures to make sure na hindi makapasok ang Filipino fishing boats sa loob ng Bajo de Masinloc.” Tarriela said during a press conference.
Tarriela said China installed the barriers on the southeast entrance of the said shoal.
“Nilalagay nila every time that they are monitoring the presence of Philippine government vessels, whether these are BFAR or Philippine Coast Guard. And kapag maraming bilang ng Filipino fishing boats na mangingisda patungo sa bdm so this is a measure that they’re doing. To ensure hindi natin mapapasok ang loob ng Bajo de Masinloc.” he added.
Tarriela also clarified that there was no interception by Chinese vessels during their operation to refuel Filipino fishermen in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) as reported by former US Air Force official and defense attaché Ray Powell in his X post.
“As attested by media personnel who were on board the Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) flight earlier today, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and PCG vessels were stationary at certain points to distribute fuel subsidies to Filipino fishermen,” PCG Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Commodore Jay Tarriela, told reporters.
“Regarding Mr. Powell, he did not have a clear understanding of why the BFAR vessels stopped at those locations. He suspected they were perhaps blocked by the Chinese Coast Guard. However, we are clarifying that the vessels stopped to distribute fuel subsidies to our Filipino fishermen,” he added.
Tarriela also stated that there was no harassment from the Chinese Coast Guard during the fuel distribution program. “We did not experience harassment from the Chinese Coast Guard. I believe this is primarily because we were not that close to Bajo de Masinloc,” he noted.
Earlier, Powell reported that satellite photos indicated that Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels were blocking Philippine ships from Bajo de Masinloc.
He said the photos showed that the PCG ship BRP Bagacay and the BFAR ship BRP Datu Pagbuaya were intercepted by Chinese vessels in the area. The PCG’s BRP Cabra was also present.
“Two Philippine Coast Guard and one Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ships deployed 25-30 nautical miles east of Scarborough Shoal today. BRP Bagacay and BRP Datu Pagbuaya have been intercepted by two Chinese Coast Guard ships, while a third and six maritime militia ships established blocking positions,” Powell stated.
Satellite imagery from Powell also showed two Chinese Maritime Militia vessels, Qiong San Sha Yu 108 and San Sha Yu 006, stationed near Bajo de Masinloc. Additional vessels, including Qiong San Sha Yu 003306, 00308, 315, 00314, and CCG 3305, were also observed in positions to potentially block Philippine ships, according to the satellite images.