The Armed Forces of the Philippines considers “alarming” the latest reported harassment by the China Coast Guard of Filipino fishermen at Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea.

However, the Philippines will continue its diplomatic and peaceful approach in addressing China’s aggressive actions in the WPS, AFP spokesperson Francel Margareth Padilla said Monday.

“We consider it alarming because the incidents have shorter and shorter (intervals),” Padilla said in a mix of Filipino and English.

“But at the command conference that we had, there was a guidance from the President to try different approaches on how to handle the situation,” she said.

She said it would be up to the AFP’s ground commanders to undertake actions to prevent the harassment of Filipinos in their own territory by foreign nations.

Padilla said the AFP is not inclined to micro-manage its commanders, including those tasked to protect the country’s sovereign rights and exclusive economic zone in the WPS.

“So in any like situation, the armed forces will look into that. As we said, we do not want to micro-manage our ground commanders. So they will determine [such] actions,” she said. “Of course, the whole AFP is there to support them.”

Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, confirmed the encounter between Filipino fishermen and the China Coast Guard at Bajo de Masinloc, or Scarborough Shoal, last 12 January.

“It was the Chinese coast guard that harassed and drove away the Filipino fishermen. But before they were allowed to leave the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc, they were ordered to return the sea shells they had gathered,” Tarriela said on ANC’s Headstart on Monday.

Regular mission

Tarriela said the PCG will submit an incident report to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea and other government agencies concerned, specifically the Department of Foreign Affairs, for action.

He said the Philippine Navy assets sighted during the incident were part of the service’s regular mission to patrol the country’s exclusive economic zone in the WPS against Chinese encroachment.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 affirmed the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone entitlement in the WPS and thumbed down China’s claim to nearly the entire WPS. The bigger South China Sea overlaps the WPS.

“But in that particular incident, there were no Coast Guard and BFAR assets deployed there,” Tarriela said.

He added the PCG presence in the WPS should be supplemented by BFAR vessels. “We are hoping the BFAR can deploy their vessels at those times that we are not there,” he said.

Tarriela confirmed that the CCG is “basically patrolling” in the Bajo de Masinloc.

“Mr. Jack Tabat from Zambales has admitted that the video came from their boat, the FB Legendary Jo. According to his statement, on 12 January 2024, Filipino fishermen who were collecting seashells near the south entrance of the Baja de Masinloc experienced harassment by the China Coast Guard. The fishermen were instructed to return the shells they had gathered to the sea and were subsequently driven away,” he said in a social media post.

Tarriela said Tabat reported that there were five Chinese Coast Guard personnel on board a rubber boat who approached the Filipino fishermen.

“Four of them disembarked and chased after the fishermen. He also documented one Chinese Coast Guard personnel grabbing the fishing boat and preventing it from departing unless the fishermen threw back the seashells,” he said.

Tarriela said the PCG is awaiting the arrival of the fishing vessel that was harassed by the China Coast Guard.

“The PCG intends to gather the testimonies of those fishermen,” he said.

Tarriela has repeatedly slammed the China Coast Guard for its bullying, particularly at Baja de Masinloc, of PCG and civilian boats on resupply missions to the Filipino troops stationed on the grounded BRP Sierra Madre.