China scales up WPS bullying

The standoff at Scarborough Shoal may have entered a new phase after the Philippine Coast Guard said it had monitored the presence of a People’s Liberation Army, or PLA, Navy vessel for the first time at Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal where the 2012 tense faceoff happened between the Philippines and China.

PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, or WPS, Commodore Jay Tarriela said the PLA Navy vessel was monitored during a maritime patrol by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, or BFAR, ship BRP Tamblot early last week.

The development is disturbing since China has restrained its military ships from the area but has deployed Chinese Coast Guard and militia vessels to harass Philippine boats amid the territorial rift.

“The first time that we monitored the presence of the PLA Navy it was at a distance of around 28 nautical miles when the BFAR arrived at Bajo de Masinloc and then eventually it came closer to a distance of 18 nautical miles,” Tarriela said.

China’s PLA Navy vessel never went within 12 nautical miles — the Philippines’ territorial sea in the area, he said.

“I’m not sure if they chose not to enter the territorial sea of Bajo de Masinloc, but as far as our monitoring was concerned, they stopped at a distance of 18 nautical miles.”

Aside from the PLA vessel, four China Coast Guard vessels — the 3063, 3064, 3302 and 3105 — were in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinoloc during the patrol.

He said CCG vessels 3302 and 3105 carried out dangerous maneuvers to prevent the BFAR vessels from entering the shoal.

He said these were the same vessels that had previously blocked a PCG vessel entering the shoal.

CCG vessel 3105 was equipped with a drone, which took visuals of the BFAR vessel.

Also, Tarriela said, the PCG documented four Chinese maritime militia vessels that “actively participated” in the CCG’s blocking and dangerous maneuvers against the BFAR vessel.

He said the Philippine vessels were shadowed by the PLA Navy, CCG and CMM which did the dangerous maneuvers.

The CCG radio-challenged the Philippine vessels 25 times.

“All of those 25 instances when we were challenged by radio, the PCG commanding officer and the pilot of our surveillance aircraft also responded and challenged the Chinese maritime forces,” Tarriela said.

Despite the harassment, Tarriela said the rotational deployment of government vessels was “here to stay.”

Tarriela maintained that the presence of the PCG and BFAR at Bajo de Masinloc is not meant to “provoke anybody” or to escalate tensions in the WPS.

“Our objective here is to protect Filipino fishermen, to make sure they can continue to fish at Bajo de Masinloc,” he said.

He said that whether or not the government conducts rotational deployments, “there are always China Coast Guard vessels” at Bajo de Masinloc.

Floating barriers back

The CCG has installed new floating barriers at the southeast entrance of Bajo de Masinloc, Tarriela confirmed on Saturday.

“From there, it’s not just the floating barriers that is worth noting but you can see that there are two Chinese Coast Guard vessels guarding the lagoon,” Tarriela said in a news forum in Quezon City.

He said Beijing had positioned CCG vessel 3063 and CCG vessel 3064 to monitor the floating barriers.

“And they have also deployed speedboats to make sure they can monitor the floating barriers,” he added.

Tarriela said the floating barriers prevent fishermen from entering the area.

He said the CCG started installing the floating barriers on 15 February when it was the BFAR’s turn to conduct a maritime patrol.

He said there were no floating barriers when the PCG’s BRP Teresa Magbanua conducted its nine-day maritime patrol from 1 to 9 February.

“Since we left Bajo de Masinloc from 8 February there were no floating barriers up to 13 February,” he said.

When the BFAR’s BRP Tamblot arrived at the shoal on 15 February, Tarriela said that was when they noticed the floating barriers.

“So from these particular images we can conclude that the Chinese Coast Guard vessel is putting up floating barriers every time we deploy our government vessels, whether it’s the Philippine Coast Guard or the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources,” he said.

BFAR secures fishing ground

The BFAR said it is beefing up its support for the fisherfolk in the WPS.

At a news forum, BFAR spokesperson Nazario Briguera said the agency has allocated P660 million for the purchase of 66 62-foot fishing vessels this year to serve “Filipino fisherfolk with bigger boats.”

At least 10 big fishing boats will be distributed to cooperatives operating in the West Philippine Sea, the BFAR official said.

Another P80 million was allocated for the purchase of fishing paraphernalia and post-harvest equipment for Filipino fishers.

“We are confident that if the fisherfolk see a government presence, their morale will be boosted,” Briguera said.

“We are seeing that the fish production in the West Philippine Sea will improve,” he added.

Briguera said there are 385,300 fishermen in the WPS. The territorial waters account for 275,520 metric tons of fisheries production, equivalent to 6 percent to 7 percent of the whole fisheries sector.

However, the BFAR official noted that parts of the resource-rich lagoon have been destroyed because of cyanide fishing intentionally done by Chinese fishermen.

Briguera said the use of cyanide “compromises the marine integrity, not only of the Philippines but also of other countries.” The damage caused by China to corals has reached “billions of pesos.”

Jing Villamente