PCG denies China’s claim of provocation near Bajo de Masinloc
Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela, spokesperson for West Philippine Sea.INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has refuted claims by the People’s Republic of China that the BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) “deliberately provoked” China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels near Bajo de Masinloc.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Commodore Jay Tarriela, emphasized that it was CCG vessels 21550 and 5009 that operated unlawfully within Philippine waters on July 15.
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“In contrast, the China Coast Guard vessels were operating unlawfully in these waters, aggressively obstructing our navigation route by speeding up and dangerously crossing close to our vessel in an attempt to intimidate and harass our personnel,” he said.
Tarriela described these “bullying tactics” as part of a “recurring pattern of coercion,” noting that CCG vessels continue to encroach upon the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), jeopardizing navigational safety and infringing on the country’s maritime jurisdiction.
On the morning of July 15, the BRP Teresa Magbanua was conducting a routine maritime patrol within the Philippines’ EEZ when the CCG vessels allegedly blocked its path.
However, China’s state-run media offered a different version of events, claiming that the BRP Teresa Magbanua repeatedly made “high-speed crossings astern, with the closest distance being only about 100 meters” from the two CCG vessels.
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Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada issued a statement on Friday supporting the Philippines’ rejection of the CCG’s actions within the country’s EEZ.
“Nine years have passed since the Permanent Court of Arbitration upheld our maritime sovereignty and integrity and ruled China’s claims over the West Philippine Sea as baseless under international law. Yet, China continues to ignore this decision and has been incessantly harassing our maritime personnel, scientists, and fisherfolk,” Estrada said.
The lawmaker, who also chairs the Senate committee on national defense and security, peace, unification, and reconciliation, criticized China for allegedly distorting the narrative to make it appear that the BRP Teresa Magbanua’s maritime patrol was unlawful.
“I stand firmly with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in condemning, in the strongest possible terms, the China Coast Guard’s latest act of harassment against our maritime personnel,” he said.
“These aggressive, dangerous, and bullying tactics must stop immediately. No amount of intimidation or coercive behavior can ever erase the fact that the Philippines’ sovereign rights are enshrined in international law — and no hostile action can invalidate what is rightfully ours,” Estrada also said. /jpv
