PCG urges US, Japan coast guards to boost presence as China trespass law looms

In this photo taken on May 16, 2024, Philippine fishermen aboard their wooden boat catch fish in South China Sea. Agence France-Presse

MANILA, Philippines — To address the looming implementation of the anti-trespassing policy of China, which encroaches on most of the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has proposed to its counterparts in the United States and Japan a “greater deployment”  in the high seas.

PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan made this proposal as he noted that the agency will also intensify its deployment.

Gavan, along with his counterpart US Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan and Japan Coast Guard vice admiral Seguchi Yoshio, met during the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore from May 31 to June 2.

READ: China Coast Guard: We can detain trespassers

“The PCG intends to send ships further out, in coordination with other agencies, to better secure our Filipino fishermen,” Gavan was quoted as saying in a PCG statement on Tuesday.

“I’d like to propose greater deployment in the high seas,” he also said.

PCG said the US Coast Guard will deploy personnel from the North Pacific Coast Guard “to support the PCG in upholding its sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea,” while the Japan Coast Guard proposed conducting more personnel exchanges with PCG.

“We will do our part, but we also need you to be there to maintain rules-based order the way Coast Guards should play their role,” Gavan further said.

READ: China’s new trespassing rule is illegal, illegitimate — experts

China has approved a new policy authorizing its coast guard extensive powers to detain foreigners deemed “illegally crossing” its borders without trial for up to 60 days, according to a South China Morning Post (SCMP) report.

The announcement of this policy, which SCMP noted “coincides with the arrival at Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal of a group of civilians and fishermen from the Philippines”, will take effect on June 15.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said Beijing is escalating South China Sea tensions because of this policy.