Philippine authorities on Tuesday expressed alarm after Chinese Coast Guard vessels reportedly harassed Filipino fishermen in various encounters at the Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal, one of the territories disputed by the Philippines and China.
On September 6, three China Coast Guard vessels were seen at Bajo de Masinloc that day with two Filipino fishing bancas, who refused to leave the sea.
“The Chinese Coast Guard Vessel moved to the location of a Filipino banca. Upon reaching the Filipino banca, a Chinese Coast Guard personnel onboard a rubber boat ordered the Filipino banca to leave the area,” the Philippine Coast Guard said.
During that time, the crew of the Filipino banca was asking the Chinese Coast Guard personnel to let them fish in the area.
Another Chinese rubber boat was launched and headed towards the Filipino bancas to scare them away.
During that time, the captain of the Filipino banca signaled to his crew members to return to their mother boat.
After these skirmishes, PCG operatives spotted another Filipino banca approaching Bajo de Masinloc.
“When the Filipino banca was around 3 nautical miles from Bajo de Masinloc, it was blocked by the Chinese Coast Guard. The Filipino banca outmaneuvered the Chinese Coast Guard vessel. Two Chinese rubber boats were deployed to [prevent] the Filipino banca from reaching Bajo de Masinloc. The Chinese rubber boats eventually disengaged and went back to their respective mother boats,” the PCG reported.
The three Filipino bancas were able to fish at Bajo de Masinloc that night but they left in the morning for fear of being harassed again.
Skirmishes continued the next day when the PCG also monitored a People’s Liberation Army Navy vessel patrolling Vicinity 17 of Bajo de Masinloc. On September 10, PCG operatives reported another Chinese Coast Guard vessel anchored at Bajo de Masinloc.
The PCG reported the Chinese boat moved closer to the Filipino banca, then launched rubber boats and encircled it. A number of Chinese Coast Guard personnel took photos and videos. The Filipino banca decided to leave the area.
The defense department had released photos of Beijing’s island building in the Scarborough shoal, which the arbitral tribunal ruled was illegal. Philippine officials described the development as a “worrisome” threat to the country’s territorial integrity.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Philippines will file a ‘note verbale’ against Beijing, attaching released aerial photos of 10 ships in the shoal—four coast guard vehicles, four barges and two ships for civilians will be used to ‘reclaim’ the sand and create land features within the disputed islet.
“The President was angry about the reclamation. The Chinese Ambassador had a slip of tongue when he said to a Cabinet secretary that they would just suck out the sand from the sea and transfer it to create islands,” Lorenzana said during the sidelines of President Rodrigo Duterte’s trip to Laos.
“It is very worrisome. It’s ours. If they create an island out of it, we cannot claim it anymore,” he said.
“We suspect that they’re testing if their technology can reclaim [the sand] underwater.”
Any reclamation of China for an alleged military installation would have a great effect on Philippine territorial defenses, the defense chief said.