PH boat ‘ignores’ China radio challenge at Scarborough – Beijing

MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino fishing boat near Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea “ignored” a radio challenge from the China Coast Guard (CCG), Beijing’s embassy in Manila said.

The boat’s captain said he was “not afraid” but remained “alert” during Monday’s incident.

READ: PH logs 2026’s first Chinese harassment in Scarborough Shoal

Guo Wei, deputy spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Manila, said CCG vessel 23521 radioed the Filipino fishing boat Prince LJ to ask about its intentions, cargo, and whether it required any assistance.

The radio challenge also asserted China’s claim over Panatag Shoal, reflecting Beijing’s 10-dash-line claim over much of the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, a claim the Arbitral Tribunal effectively dismissed in 2016.

“The Philippine vessel ignored the [radio challenge] communication, turned away, and departed,” Guo said in a statement posted on Facebook Wednesday, responding to the report on the incident released Tuesday by Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea.

Guo said “both sides maintained a safe distance”, but Tarriela previously said the CCG ship came as close as 30 meters, while blaring sirens and blocking  Prince LJ’s path.

Boat captain: ‘I wasn’t really afraid‘

Prince LJ captain Ryan Jacinto also recalled that a People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA-N) warship, which he identified as hull number 621, had chased their boat, which came as close as 16 nautical miles from the shoal.

Afterward, Jacinto said, CCG vessel 23521 hovered near their boat.

Jacinto’s crew then sought assistance, leading to their encounter with the PCG’s BRP Cape San Agustin.

“I am the captain of Prince LJ, which was being harassed by China earlier. Fortunately, the troops, the Philippine Coast Guard, by the grace of God, were here to help us get away from there,” Jacinto told personnel aboard BRP Cape San Agustin as shown by PCG’s video handout released on Tuesday.

“I wasn’t really afraid, it’s just that it’s better for us to be alert because we don’t know what’s in their minds,” added Jacinto, a resident of Subic town in Zambales.

A civil society coalition that organized three historic civilian-led supply missions to the West Philippine Sea, including near Panatag Shoal, lauded the PCG for its swift response.

“Our front liners showed that in the face of foreign aggression, Filipino bayanihan remains one of our strongest and most principled responses,” said Atin Ito co-convenor and Akbayan President Rafaela David in a statement on Wednesday.

China’s ‘true nature’

David, who also recalled the PLA-N warship providing water and three packs of biscuits to a stranded fisherfolk off Zambales last month, stressed that this latest incident reveals the “true nature” of China.

READ: West PH Sea experts slam China’s ‘propaganda’ stunt loved by ‘DDS’

“After China’s water-and-biscuit-giving drama and propaganda in the West Philippine Sea last December, which no one bought, it is back to its old violent habits of harassing Filipino fishers,” David said.

“No amount of drama and propaganda can conceal the true nature of a foreign aggressor in our own seas,” she continued. “China’s latest harassment of fishers who are simply trying to make an honest living is proof of this.” /mcm