Chinese water cannon blasts, ramming of PH ships continue

‘OVERKILL’ The China Coast Guard (right) does it again on Wednesday, this time on the Datu Pagbuaya of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. —Photo from the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Wednesday reported new acts of aggression by its Chinese counterpart in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), in incidents that happened almost simultaneously near two disputed shoals.

The China Coast Guard again sideswiped and blasted its water cannon at a Philippine civilian vessel near Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) around 6 a.m. on Wednesday, a PCG official said.

A CCG ship with bow No. 3302 used its water cannon to harass a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) boat, said Commodore Jay Tarriela, the PCG spokesperson on the WPS.

READ: West PH Sea: PCG deploys vessels after alleged China helicopter harassment

Around the same time, two other CCG ships, backed by two People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy vessels, blocked and harassed two PCG vessels nearby.

The 99-meter CCG No. 3302 encountered the 30-meter BFAR ship BRP Datu Pagbuaya some 35 kilometers (19 nautical miles) from Bajo de Masinloc as the latter was conducting a routine patrol and resupply mission for Filipino fishermen in the area.

In two assaults about 20 minutes apart, the Chinese vessel fired its water cannons at the Pagbuaya, targeting its navigation and communications equipment to “cause damage,’’ said Tarriela, who showed videos of the incident in a press briefing.

“This is actually an overkill. Our BFAR ship is so small compared to this humongous vessel. They have disregarded the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea,” he added.

The two other PCG ships in the vicinity—the BRP Teresa Magbanua and BRP Cabra—also encountered CCG and PLA Navy vessels making “dangerous maneuvers,” he said.

First time with PLA warship

The Magbanua was shadowed by a PLA warship at a distance of 300 yards. “This is the first time we have encountered a PLA Navy warship closely shadowing the PCG in Bajo de Masinloc,” Tarriela said.

The latest incident took place two days after China’s announcement that it submitted a nautical chart to the United Nations defining the baselines of what it claims as territorial waters around the Bajo de Masinloc.

The CCG said it “implemented control measures in accordance with the law and regulations” and dispatched its ships after found Philippine vessels were “intruding into China’s territorial waters around Huangyan Dao,” as the shoal is called by Beijing.

Undersecretary Alexander Lopez, spokesperson for the National Maritime Council, said “we can’t speculate” if the latest acts of harassment were Beijing’s way of flexing its muscle concerning Monday’s announcement.

“As far as we’re concerned, we’re on the right. It will still go through a process. We are praying that international law will prevail,” Lopez said at the press briefing.

China has no jurisdiction over the shoal while the Philippines has indisputable sovereignty over it and its territorial sea, he added.

Located some 222 km (120 nautical miles) off the coast of Zambales province, the shoal has been under Chinese control since 2012.

Ramming at Escoda

At Escoda (Sabina) Shoal, located in the southern part of the West Philippine Sea, Chinese vessels also harassed Philippine government ships almost at the same time as the Masinloc incident.

The PCG ships Melchora Aquino and Cape Engaño and the BFAR’s Romapenet and Datu Bankaw responded to messages from Filipino fishermen that they were being denied access to Escoda, Tarriela said.

A CCG ship—No. 21549 —maneuvered close and side swept the Datu Bankaw twice and also “intentionally” rammed the Romapenet, he added.

“We have documented the presence of… China Coast Guard 5205, 5305, 5203, People’s Liberation Army Navy 167, and China Coast Guard 21559 and 21558,” he said.

After a five-month patrol at Escoda, the PCG’s Magbanua was forced to pull out of the shoal in September due to dwindling supplies and ailing personnel.