BFAR vessels on scientific mission harassed by Chinese ships, chopper – PCG

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported Saturday that Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessels were harassed by Chinese Coast Guard ships and a Chinese Navy helicopter.

In a statement on Saturday, PCG spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said BFAR vessels BRP Datu Pagbuaya and BRP Datu Bankaw were en route on the morning of Jan. 24 for a marine scientific survey and sampling at Sandy Cays 2 and 3 in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

“During the mission, the BFAR vessels encountered aggressive maneuvers from three Chinese Coast Guard vessels 4106, 5103, and 4202,” Tarriela said.

Further, according to the PCG, the Chinese Coast Guard deployed four speedboats against the two BFAR vessels, which were rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs).

“Compounding the situation, a People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA Navy) helicopter, identified by tail number 24, hovered at an unsafe altitude above the BFAR RHIBs, creating hazardous conditions due to the propeller wash,” Tarriela said.

At the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City also on Saturday, Tarriela explained, “May propeller wash yung helicopter at the very low altitude, yung impact nito sa bangka, there’s a very high possibility na tumaob yung rubber boat.”

(There’s a propeller wash from the helicopter at the very low altitude, the impact of it to the boat, there’s a very high possibility that the rubber boat would capsize.)

He said that the BFAR and the PCG personnel on board attempted to tell the Chinese maritime forces that their maneuvers were “not in accordance with the regulations” and were endangering the Filipinos’ safety.

When asked by reporters at the conference what the China Coast Guard responded, Tarriela said, “Patuloy nilang sinasabi na we have to leave the area and that they have total jurisdiction over these waters.”

(They were continuing to say that we have to leave the area and that they have total jurisdiction over these waters.)

The PCG called the incident a “blatant disregard” of the 1972 Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs).

“Fortunately, the skilled seamanship of the BFAR crew prevented any potential accidents during these dangerous confrontations,” the PCG spokesperson for WPS said.

“As a result of this continuous harassment and the disregard for safety exhibited by the Chinese maritime forces, BFAR and PCG have regrettably suspended their survey operations and were unable to collect sand samples at Sandy Cays,” Tarriela added.

READ: ‘Barbaric’: 2 new reports of Chinese harassment

According to the PCG spokesperson, this is the second time in 2025 that a PLA-Navy helicopter was deployed against Philippine assets.

“This kind of action is always considered to be aggressive and escalatory. But on our part, we are not going to instigate a more provocative action or a provocative response,” Tarriela said.

INQUIRER.net sought comment from the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines about the said incident. It replied with a statement in the Chinese language. INQUIRER.net is seeking an official translation.