The country will continue to publicly expose China’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea, a senior Coast Guard official said Tuesday. 

PCG spokesman for WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela, speaking at the  Stratbase-ADR Institute forum in Makati City, said they will continue to embed Filipino journalists during patrols in the WPS.

“Let me again emphasize that our transparency initiative remains to be the same, how aggressive we are, how we started until now it remains to be the same,” he said. 

The National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea did not send any guidance to the PCG “to calibrate its policy or tone down” its statements on the WPS issue following last month’s forging of the Philippine-China agreement to deescalate tension in the disputed water. 

“Nothing has changed…We still choose to publicize the aggressive actions of China just like we did last weekend when the Chinese Coast Guard did a dangerous maneuver, and provocative behavior, crossing the bow of the Philippine Coast Guard. Those videos and photos were still released,” Tarriela said.

 To recall, the CCG vessels conducted dangerous and blocking maneuvers at sea against PCG’s BRP Teresa Magbanua four times while executing a nine-day maritime patrol mission from February 1 to 9 in the Bajo de Masinloc.

The CCG vessels crossed the bow of the PCG vessel twice. 

It also shadowed the BRP Teresa Magbanua on more than 40 occasions.

On January 17, the Philippines and China agreed to de-escalate tensions in the South China Sea. 

Both countries also agreed to improve their existing maritime communication mechanisms “to prevent incidents and any miscalculations” that may increase further tension.