The Philippine government summoned a senior Chinese embassy official to protest the water cannon incident that damaged two Philippine vessels patrolling in the West Philippine Sea on 30 April.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it summoned Deputy Chief of Mission Zhou Zhiyong over the harassment of Filipino vessels conducting a routine humanitarian mission to Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc.

The DFA said it protested the harassment, ramming, swarming, shadowing and blocking, dangerous maneuvers, use of water cannons, and other aggressive actions of China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia vessels against the vessels of the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) that were en route to Bajo de Masinloc.

China’s aggressive actions, particularly its use of water cannons, caused damage to the vessels of the PCG and BFAR,” the DFA said.

The DFA said it had ordered the immediate departure of the Chinese vessels from Bajo de Masinloc. “The Philippines demanded that the Chinese vessels leave Bajo de Masinloc and its vicinity immediately.”

This year alone, the Philippines has lodged 20 diplomatic protests against China and overall a total of 153 during the Marcos administration.

No reply from China

The Chinese embassy has yet to issue a statement on the incident in which it claimed to have “expelled” two Philippine ships from its waters near Huangyan Island, the Chinese name for Scarborough Shoal.

The shoal has been a cause of contention between the two countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012.

Heavy damage

This time the pressure of the water cannons was far more powerful to the point of tearing and bending the metal sections and equipment on the vessels.

Although none of the 15 personnel on board was hurt, the BFAR said the BRP Datu Bankaw sustained serious damage to its heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, its electrical, navigation, and radio gear, and its hull due to the high-pressure water cannoning by the Chinese vessels.

“So far, we have not received any reports of personnel being compromised or injured,” BFAR spokesperson Nazario Briguera said in a radio interview.

“Based on the report we received, the radio system’s electrical navigation was damaged, as well as the superficial hull, and this was because of eight instances of high-pressure water cannoning by the Chinese Coast Guard and the Chinese Maritime Militia,” he said.

“Then, as far as I remember, compared to our previous incident at Scarborough Shoal, in Bajo de Masinloc, there was also a ramming of our ship,” Briguera added.

Mission accomplished

Despite the harassment, the BFAR official said the humanitarian and assistance mission continued, extending support to 25 fishing boats with 28,000 liters of diesel, engine oil and medicines for the Filipino fishermen who stay at the shoal to fish.

Most of the fishermen were from Pangasinan and Zambales.

Undeterred

Meanwhile, the National Task Force for the WPS (NTF-WPS) described China’s maneuvers in the disputed waters as a demonstration of “illegal and irresponsible behavior” highlighting their “egregious disregard” for the Philippines’ lawful exercise of its rights and entitlements in its exclusive economic zone.

“Clearly, China has no regard for the welfare of our fishermen who only want to make a decent living in the WPS,” the NTF-WPS statement read.

“China’s act of obstructing civilian ships carrying only supplies for our fishermen calls into question the sincerity of their call for a dialogue and peaceful approaches to de-escalate the situation in the West Philippine Sea.”

Despite the aggression, the NTF-WPS said the “Philippines will continue to act peacefully and responsibly,” noting that it will consistently adhere to rules-based international law based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the binding 2016 Arbitral Award.

“Peace and stability in the region cannot be achieved if countries, big or small, do not exercise due regard for the well-established and legally settled rights of others,” the NTF-WPS added.

“The Philippines will not be deterred from pursuing legitimate and lawful activities in our maritime zones, including in the BDM which is a vital source of livelihood for our fisherfolk,” it said.

‘Shen Kou’

On another front, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the Chinese-flagged research vessel “Shen Kou” that was initially sighted loitering in the exclusive economic zone east of the country had turned off its automatic identification system (AIS) to avoid being detected.

AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said, “As of the latest report, the vessel had turned off its AIS so we are relying only on our visual monitoring of its movements and our maritime patrol will determine the status of its locations and activities.”

She said the vessel’s “unauthorized presence” was last tracked in the eastern seaboard of the country and it was reportedly “checking the conditions” of the Philippine waters.

“We also got a photo of them lowering a certain equipment so possibly they are trying to see the ocean bed, what’s on the sea floor, because after it had taken a photo, they immediately hoisted it up,” Padilla said.

Padilla added the AFP is still conducting maritime patrols, utilizing its naval and air forces, to visually monitor the survey vessel.

“We have been sending maritime patrols regularly to monitor the activity of this vessel and so, as of today, we have an ongoing maritime patrol mission,” she said.

Citing the military’s initial report, Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, said the Chinese vessel was conducting marine research and studies in the country’s waters.

Trinidad said the Chinese survey ship’s action could not be considered illegal as even the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea “hardly implements policies” when it comes to research and studies of the maritime domain.

The Shen Kou was last spotted sailing in a zigzag manner off Viga, Catanduanes.

Padilla said the AFP issued radio challenges but the Chinese vessel did not respond.

“We did not see any personnel on the main deck and there was no response to our communications,” she said, adding that “this tells us two things: either they don’t want to engage or it’s in distress.”