PCG averts near-collision with China ship in West Philippine Sea

MANILA, Philippines, April 8 ------ A patrol ship of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has avoided a head-on hit by a vessel of the China Coast Guard (CCG). In what the PCG described as “an alarming incident,” CCG vessel with bow number 3302 “attempted head-on collision with the smaller PCG vessel,” the 44-meter BRP Cabra, around 11:30 a.m. on April 6, Commodore Jay Tarriela, the PCG’s spokesman on West Philippine Sea issues, reported.

At 100 yards from the PCG ship, the CCG vessel sailed quickly at a speed between four and 5.3 knots until they were just about 60 yards apart, based on reports by a PCG officer onboard Cabra captured on video and shared by Tarriela. On April 7, CCG 3302 sustained its efforts to “engage in dangerous maneuvers against the PCG vessel, BRP Cabra,” Tarriela continued. “Throughout the afternoon, CCG 3302 made multiple attempts to ram the aft of the BRP Cabra,” he wrote in his statement. The CCG even sent “a smaller, faster vessel – CCG-21612 – to further attempt to ram the PCG vessel,” Tarriela added.

However, the Cabra managed to avoid the two CCG vessels. Tarriela did not specify where the latest incident of aggression by China happened. Since April 5, the PCG had been challenging the illegal patrols of CCG 3302 – said to be 100 meters long, according to earlier reports – in the West Philippine Sea off the coast of Zambales, the commodore said. “Despite continuous radio communications from the PCG asserting the illegitimacy of these actions, the China Coast Guard continues to claim that it is engaged in lawful maritime operations,” Tarriela said in a statement.

Despite the alleged aggression caused by CCG 3302’s “reckless and dangerous maneuvers,” BRP Cabra “effectively pushed the CCG vessel further away, now located approximately 92-96 nautical miles off the coast of Capones Island,” he said. Tarriela commended the Cabra crew for their “seamanship skills and professionalism,” which he said helped “narrowly avert such collision.” He also called out the CCG for its seemingly disobedience to the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, “of which they are a signatory.” “PCG Commandant, Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, continues to emphasize to the PCG sailors deployed in the West Philippine Sea the importance of asserting Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights without escalating tensions. This directive aligns with the explicit guidance of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., reinforcing the commitment of the PCG to uphold national interests while maintaining peace in the West Philippine Sea,” Tarriela said.

Meanwhile, the spokesman also reported detecting Chinese maritime research ship Zhong San Da Xue at approximately 91.4 nautical miles northeast of Itbayat Island in Batanes, within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), at 11 a.m. yesterday. The PCG used the dark vessel detection system provided by the government of Canada, he noted.

The ship left the port in Guangdong province, China last March 31 and entered the Philippines’ EEZ on April 2. It stayed in the area close to Itbayat since then, “seemingly navigating in a pattern resembling a reversed ‘D.’” “Given this navigation pattern over the past five days, it can be inferred that the Chinese research vessel is likely conducting marine scientific research,” Tarriela said.

A PCG aircraft would be sent to the area to challenge the presence of the Chinese maritime research vessel, he said. It would be the second time that the PCG detected the presence of maritime research ships inside Philippine territory, following the Song Hang which entered the country’s archipelagic waters last week. The Song Hang crew claimed they were en route to the Indian Ocean “to catch fish.”

Source: philstar.com