PH’s Scarborough mission sees heavy presence of Chinese ships

(Image from Sealight)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government mission off Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on Monday encountered a “very heavy” presence of Chinese vessels, according to a West Philippine Sea monitor.

“The Philippines is carrying out an apparent ‘Kadiwa’ mission near Scarborough Shoal today,” said SeaLight director Ray Powell in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Powell said the mission consisted of government-owned fish carrier M/V Mamalakaya, escorted by Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) BRP Teresa Magbanua and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel BRP Datu Romapanet.

According to Powell, this mission “is encountering a very heavy flotilla of People’s Republic of China vessels” to enforce its 25-30 nautical-mile exclusion zone around Scarborough Shoal.

There are “at least” seven China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels and 14 maritime militia ships—with automatic identification systems turned on—within the vicinity of the shoal, according to Powell.

The maritime version of the “Kadiwa” program was launched last May.

The MV Mamalakaya, which was deployed for this task, made its maiden voyage near the shoal in May to engage with Filipino fishermen, purchasing their catch and offering fuel subsidies, according to Commodore Jay Tarriela, the PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea.

The CCG’s so-called “exclusion zone enforcement” outright flouts the 2016 arbitral ruling, which declared the area as a traditional fishing ground of the Philippines, China and Vietnam.

The 2016 Arbitral Award made the ruling after then-President Benigno S. Aquino brought China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2013, or a year after the tense standoff over Panatag Shoal. 

In 2012, Beijing began to have effective control of Panatag Shoal after its stand-off with Manila.

Since then, at least two CCG ships have been stationed within the vicinity of the lagoon at any given time, according to local authorities, preventing PCG vessels and Filipino fishermen from coming close.

During bad weather, however, Chinese ships had been seen abandoning the vicinity of the shoal.