WPS monitor: China appears to halt Panatag rescue ops after ship collision

SCREENGRAB FROM PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD’S VIDEO HANDOUT

MANILA, Philippines — China appeared to have finished its presumed search and rescue (SAR) operations in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal following the collision of its own ships, a West Philippine Sea monitor said on Wednesday.

Ray Powell, founder of maritime tracker SeaLight, told the Inquirer that Chinese ships seemed to have “concluded” its operations at around 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

On Monday, China Coast Guard (CCG) with hull number 3104 chased BRP Suluan and performed a risky maneuver on Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship BRP Suluan, leading to a collision with a Chinese navy warship.

READ: Chinese ships collide off Scarborough Shoal; PH Coast Guard offers aid

Both vessels sustained damage, with CCG-3104’s forecastle being badly crushed, while BRP Suluan managed to evade the maneuver.

At least four personnel were on the front of the CCG-3104, but they were not seen after the collision, and it was assumed by Filipino personnel that they fell overboard, according to Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea.

A day after the incident, one CCG ship and eight Chinese maritime militia vessels were seen in a “parallel sweep” track which Powell said was indicative of a SAR operation.

READ: PCG offered help after CCG vessel collided with Chinese navy warship

When asked what could be the reason for the conclusion of operations, Powell said: “Impossible to say for sure since they’ll never tell us if they found who they were looking for, though hope tends to wane over time.”

After the activity, Powell said, “they just went back to their standard pattern of enforcing their exclusion zone around Scarborough Shoal.”

Powell said that, to date, there were five CCG ships and 14 militia vessels “mostly within a 25-30 nautical mile (NM) radius” from the atoll.

Meanwhile, PCG’s BRP Teresa Magbanua also remains off 50 NM from the maritime feature, according to him.

China pushes what experts termed as “exclusion zone enforcement” in Panatag Shoal, flouting the 2016 arbitral ruling that declared the area a traditional fishing ground for the Philippines, China, and Vietnam.

The 2016 Arbitral Award made the ruling after the case filed by former President Benigno Aquino III against China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2013, a year after the tense standoff at Panatag Shoal.

Since the effective takeover of the Chinese in 2012, at least two CCG ships have been stationed near the shoal’s lagoon at all times, local authorities say, preventing the PCG and Filipino fishers from approaching. /dl