THE government on Tuesday said a diplomatic protest was filed after a Chinese Coast Guard vessel recently made risky maneuvers close to a Philippine vessel in the South China Sea.
Beijing insists its ship was in China’s sovereign waters and said Manila must abide by Chinese law over the disputed area.
However, national security adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. said on Tuesday.
“Well, you can expect, tapos na [it’s done]. Nag-file na kami ng diplomatic protest doon [We already filed a diplomatic protest],” said Esperon, who also serves as chairman of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea.
On March 2, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel reportedly conducted another “close distance maneuvering” towards a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship in Scarborough Shoal, constraining the latter’s operating space.
The shoal is located west of Zambales and lies within the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The PCG reported the incident to the media over the weekend, calling it “a clear violation” of international regulations on preventing collisions at sea.
It added that this was the fourth time since May last year that Philippine and Chinese ships had a close encounter in the West Philippine Sea.
Esperon explained the three-week delay in publicizing the matter, saying they first wanted “to give way” to further verification and diplomatic actions. He added that the government will continue to assert the country’s rights “through diplomatic channels and through the international community.”
“Can we afford to go to war? Not now, or not in this instance. There will be a time for that, but in general, we want peaceful settlements of the conflicts in the area,” he said.
PCG reports cloase distance maneuvering
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel, BRP Malabrigo (MRRV-4402) has reported one close distance maneuvering incident involving a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel during its maritime patrol operations in Bajo de Masinloc on 02 March 2022.
Coast Guard personnel have monitored a CCG vessel with bow number 3305 that conducted a close distance maneuvering of approximately 21 yards towards BRP Malabrigo (MRRV-4402) while the said PCG vessel was sailing at the vicinity waters off Bajo de Masinloc.
This constrained the maneuvering space of BRP Malabrigo (MRRV-4402) — a clear violation of the 1972 International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS).
According to PCG Commandant, CG Admiral Artemio M Abu, the said occurrence was the fourth reported close distance maneuvering incident involving CCG vessels in Bajo de Masinloc.
On 19 May 2021, PCG-manned BFAR vessel, MCS-3005 reported the first incident of close distance maneuvering involving a CCG vessel with bow number 3301.
The second and third incidents involved two CCG vessels (bow numbers: 3301 and 3103) that conducted close distance maneuvering with BRP Capones (MRRV-4404) and BRP Sindangan (MRRV-4407) during the PCG’s maritime capability enhancement exercises in Bajo de Masinloc on 01 to 02 June 2021.
“The behavior of the involved CCG vessels increased the risk of collision with four of our capital ships. Hence, we immediately coordinated with the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to address this issue through rules-based and peaceful approaches,” the Coast Guard Commandant said.
