PH Coast Guard: China’s ‘live-fire’ show aims to intimidate fishers
Philippine DA-BFAR ships escort fishing boats near Scarborough Shoal as part of the Kadiwa para sa Bagong Bayaning Mangingisda resupply mission. Photo courtesy of the Philippine Coast Guard
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Wednesday that China’s announcement of a “live-fire exercise” near Bajo de Masinloc on Tuesday was a false alarm, describing it as an attempt to intimidate Filipino fishermen operating in the contested waters.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said a People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warship with bow number 525 issued the radio warning at about 8:30 a.m., providing coordinates near Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal.
“We believe it was just a threat to scare our fishermen into leaving the area. We immediately advised them to move away for their safety, but we did not halt our operations,” Tarriela said in a press briefing at the West Philippine Sea Transparency Group office in Manila.
The intimidation came amid confrontations on Tuesday, when two China Coast Guard vessels targeted the Department of Agriculture–Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) ship BRP Datu Gumbay Piang with high-pressure water cannons.
During the government resupply mission under the Kadiwa para sa Bagong Bayaning Mangingisda program, the attack shattered the vessel’s bridge windows, disabled electrical and air-conditioning systems, and injured one crew member. Tarriela said at least three BFAR ships were blasted with water cannons by China during the mission.
The Philippines deployed BRP Gabriela Silang (OPB-8301) and BRP Cabra (MRRV-4409) from the Coast Guard, along with 10 BFAR vessels—BRP Datu Tamblot, Datu Taradapit, Datu Rumapinit, Datu Sungkad, Datu Balensusa, Datu Bankaya, Datu Daya, Datu Dumangsil, Datu Gumbay Piang, and Datu Manojo—and the civilian vessel MB Mamalakaya under the resupply and aid mission.
Chinese forces in the area included nine CCG ships, five PLAN vessels (525, 526, 552, 571, and 517), and at least four maritime militia boats.
Tarriela, however, noted that the PLAN warships did not actively participate in the harassment this time, unlike the Aug. 11 incident in which a China Coast Guard vessel and a PLAN ship collided while pursuing BRP Suluan.
The Department of National Defense and the PCG have repeatedly condemned what they describe as “intimidation tactics” by Chinese forces in the West Philippine Sea, including the use of maritime militia vessels, blockades, and water cannons against Filipino ships.
READ: LOOK: PH ship damaged after China Coast Guard’s water cannon attack
Bajo de Masinloc lies 124 nautical miles off Zambales, well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. China has maintained control over the shoal since 2012, stationing coast guard and militia vessels to assert its expansive claims over nearly the entire South China Sea.
The Philippines says the 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling rejected Beijing’s sweeping claims and affirmed Filipino fishermen’s right to access traditional fishing grounds such as Bajo de Masinloc. China has refused to recognize the decision.
Despite repeated incidents, the PCG and Armed Forces of the Philippines said they will continue patrols and humanitarian missions to support local fishing communities and assert the country’s maritime rights. /jpv
