PCG activates Pag-asa base, reports latest China ‘bullying’

ISLAND GUARD The newly opened Philippine Coast Guard district command post is the latest government facility set up in the country’s most remote town in the West Philippine Sea. —PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

The Philippines unveiled a major coast guard base on Thursday on an island in the South China Sea to serve as a “steadfast sentinel of our sovereignty” in a disputed region closely guarded by China’s forces.

Chinese officials did not immediately react on the opening of a new Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) district command on Pag-asa (Thitu) Island, which has been occupied by Filipino forces and civilians for decades but is also claimed by Beijing.

But later in the afternoon, the PCG reported that “Chinese forces” fired flares on an unarmed PCG aircraft patrolling the West Philippine Sea (WPS), calling the incident “a clear and deliberate act of bullying.”

Rear Adm. Jay Tarriela, the PCG spokesperson on the WPS, the name adopted by Manila for areas in the South China Sea that are within the country’s exclusive economic zone, said the incident occurred at the Panganiban (Mischief) and Zamora (Subi) reefs.

“This afternoon, in a clear and deliberate act of bullying, Chinese forces fired flares directly at Philippine Coast Guard Caravan aircraft while we were conducting routine Maritime Domain Awareness flights over the Kalayaan Island Group,” Tarriela said in a statement.

“These reckless and aggressive actions by China represent yet another escalation in their campaign of intimidation and harassment. By targeting unarmed PCG aircraft with flares, Beijing is not only violating established international aviation safety norms and the spirit of regional peace but is also directly endangering the lives of personnel on board,” he also said.

Tarriela also said the Chinese forces also issued radio transmissions during the incidents, “brazenly claiming ‘indisputable sovereignty’ over these areas.”

Confrontations

Chinese coast guard and other government-linked ships frequently patrol outlying waters off Pag-asa island, which is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. Chinese and Filipino forces have had tense but mostly minor confrontations in outlying waters in the past.

China claims virtually the entire sea, a key trade route, despite a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated its expansive claims under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Beijing did not participate in the arbitration, rejected its outcome and continues to defy it.

Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez, Sen. Erwin Tulfo and Coast Guard commander Adm. Ronnie Gil Gavan flew to Pag-asa to unveil the command in a brief ceremony, which was held to coincide with the country’s Day of Valor commemoration.

“This is a permanent step for us to show that our Coast Guard is ready to defend our interest in the waters, our fishermen, their livelihood and, most importantly, our sovereignty,” Lopez said.

A marker in the new Goast Guard building said it was “established as the vanguard and steadfast sentinel of our sovereignty, sovereign rights and maritime jurisdiction.”

Additional outposts

The Coast Guard command will be led by a commodore and backed up by an number of personnel, patrol ships and aircraft for law enforcement, monitoring, environmental protection and search and rescue. Smaller coast guard outposts would be built on smaller Philippine-occupied outcrops, the Coast Guard said.

In a separate statement on Thursday, Tarriela described the new PCG command district as a “milestone [that] strengthens not only maritime governance but also the Philippine Coast Guard’s commitment to holistic service and nation-building in the Kalayaan Island Group.”

Surrounded by white beaches, the tadpole-shaped Pag-asa (Filipino for “hope”) is home to about 400 Filipino villagers. It’s one of nine islands, islets and atolls which have been held by Philippine forces since the 1970s.

More than a decade ago, China started transforming seven reefs into island bases in the Spratlys. Those included Subi Reef, now a major island base with a military-grade runway about 24 kilometers (15 miles) southeast of Thitu island.

“Every day, our villagers see Chinese coast guard and militia ships all around the island,” MP Albayda, who serves as the vice mayor of the island municipality, told The Associated Press (AP). “This new coast guard district command is a big morale booster for them.”

Most remote PH township

The Philippines claims the region as its most remote offshore township, under its western island province of Palawan. It encouraged fishing families to relocate there decades ago with incentives such as free rice, to underscore its control over the area.

The 37-hectare (91-acre) island now boasts internet and cell phone connections, a more stable power and water supply, a newly cemented runway, a wharf, grade school, gymnasium and even an evacuation center in times of typhoons.

However, Pag-asa remains a meager frontier settlement compared to the Chinese-built Subi island. —Reports from AP, John Eric Mendoza and Zacarian Sarao