Taiwan vessel donated by NGO, Tarriela fires back

Taiwan vessel donated by NGO, Tarriela fires back | Daily Tribune

“And the DAILY TRIBUNE said that it was the Taiwanese government who gave it to the Philippine Coast Guard, making it appear as if we violated the One China policy because we accepted the donation of a decommissioned Coast Guard vessel from Taiwan,” Tarriela said.

“The donation of the Taiwan Coast Guard vessel did not come from Taiwan. It came from the foundation. We did not accept the donation directly from the Taiwanese Coast Guard,” Tarriela said.

As this developed, the PCG reported monitoring a Chinese research vessel reaching the boundary of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, along with three Taiwan Coast Guard vessels waiting for the Chinese vessel to move beyond the country’s EEZ.

“The most recent update, as of yesterday [Friday], is that when the Chinese research vessel already reached the boundary of our exclusive economic zone [and] we also monitored three Taiwan Coast Guard vessels that were also waiting for this Chinese research vessel to go beyond our exclusive economic zone,” Tarriela said during Saturday’s forum.

“It is surprising that even the Taiwan Coast Guard is also seriously looking into the illegal MSR [Marine Scientific Research] that this Chinese research vessel may possibly conduct,” he added.

AIS-generated

Tarriela clarified that there was no coordination between the PCG and the Taiwan Coast Guard regarding the interception of the Chinese research vessel.

He said the Taiwan Coast Guard merely relied on the automatic identification system (AIS) data of PCG vessels and determined that the Chinese research vessel, China Coast Guard 2503 and other Taiwan Coast Guard vessels would be approaching the boundary of the Philippines’ EEZ.

The PCG last monitored the Chinese research vessel J High K7 on Monday, 28 September, when it was loitering about 37 nautical miles northwest of Itbayat, Batanes.

“We deployed aircraft to challenge and disrupt the illegal marine scientific research that this vessel was conducting,” Tarriela said.

“And last Wednesday [30 September], the BRP Teresa Magbanua arrived here. We managed to deploy a digital inflatable boat to disrupt the illegal MSR that it was conducting at that time. And we were also successful in driving it farther away from Itbayat Island,” the PCG spokesperson added.

Tarriela reiterated that the Philippines’ concern over the foreign vessel’s navigation stemmed from the Chinese research vessel loitering and remaining stationary about 37 nautical miles from Itbayat, Batanes.

“It is not carrying out a freedom of navigation because it’s not expeditious,” he said.

The PCG official noted that the Chinese research vessel repeatedly stopped and dropped some instruments to conduct what he described as illegal marine scientific research (MSR) under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

No permission

Tarriela said it is important for the coastal state — in this case, the Philippines — to provide consent or authority to countries that intend to conduct MSR.

He revealed that the Department of Foreign Affairs, based on its latest coordination with the PCG, did not grant permission to the Chinese government to conduct MSR in Batanes.

China, PHL clash over MSR

Marine scientific research, according to Tarriela, is a broad field that encompasses studies on the seabed, sediments, tides and water currents, as well as aquatic resources.

Tarriela said the Chinese Embassy recently claimed that the Philippines was illegally disrupting China’s legitimate marine scientific research.

“Now, the Chinese Embassy is the one mentioning here, in our own land in the Philippines, that we are allegedly illegally disrupting their MSR, which falls within their own jurisdiction,” the PCG official said.