West PH Sea body opposes warship deployment to Panatag: A ‘warlike’ move

In this screen grab handout photo taken on May 5, 2025, and received from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Public Affairs Office on May 8, shows a Chinese frigate BN 554n (R) tailing the Philippine Navy’s BRP Emilio Jacinto during a maritime patrol near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea. (Photo by the AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — The National Maritime Council (NMC) on Monday ruled out deploying Philippine Navy warships for the Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal mission, calling such a move “warlike.”

NMC spokesperson Alexander Lopez clarified the decision despite the unprecedented involvement of a Chinese warship that thwarted the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) mission on August 11, as well as the presence of a fighter jet during the PCG’s inspection of Panatag Shoal on August 13.

Lopez echoed earlier statements by National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, noting that the PCG and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources—both civilian agencies—will remain the lead authorities for future missions at the shoal.

READ: US Navy calls false China’s claim it expelled American warship from Panatag Shoal 

“We will not deploy our navy there to match their navy. Why? Once you deploy a navy vessel there, you come in warlike… It’s like you are challenging them,” he said in a press briefing, partly in Filipino. “That is not the policy stand of our government.”

Not cowardice

Lopez also said the direct participation of a warship could be seen as provocative and escalatory.

“We will not provoke, because we don’t know what will happen if two Navy vessels are there because miscalculation and misjudgment could happen, and that is the thing we do not want,” he added.

“Just because we don’t deploy does it mean we are being cowardly — no,” he continued, partly in Filipino. “We are just being prudent, we are just being practical. And we do not want this situation to escalate.”

In what maritime experts consider an escalatory move, a 157-meter People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA-N) warship with hull number 164 joined the blocking operations against the 44.5-meter BRP Suluan, resulting in a collision with an 80-meter China Coast Guard (CCG) ship, hull number 3104.

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

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

READ: China’s search, rescue ops tracked at Panatag

Two days later, a Philippine Coast Guard Cessna Caravan was intercepted by a PLA-N Air Force J-15 fighter jet over the waters off Panatag.

READ: 2 US warships deployed off Panatag days after Chinese ships’ collision

Despite such moves, Lopez said, the Philippine government will address the conflict “in the most peaceful manner.”

“If this escalates, it will not be in the best interest of the country, it is not even in the best interest of China in that matter, and to the region,” he added. “We might as well tone it down and bring it to a level we could manage; otherwise, we don’t know what will happen.”

Lopez also said the government is prepared for any scenario.

“We do have contingency measures already,” he said, without further going into details./mcm