FOUR vessels of the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) have subjected to “dangerous maneuvers” a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel conducting patrols in the contested Scarborough Shoal, or Bajo de Masinloc, in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea.
Harassed was the PCG’s BRP Teresa Magbanua which was deployed to the shoal on February 1 to conduct a nine-day patrol and to provide food packs to Filipino fishermen in the area. In a statement, the PCG said BRP Teresa Magbanua monitored four Chinese CCG vessels with bow numbers 3105, 3302, 3063 and 3064 at the vicinity of the shoal, about 124 nautical miles from Masinloc town in Zambales.
“The CCG vessels performed dangerous and blocking maneuvers at sea against BRP Teresa Magbanua four times, with the CCG vessels crossing the bow of the PCG vessel twice, recklessly disregarding the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea once again,” the PCG statement said. The PCG said the Chinese vessels also shadowed BRP Teresa Magbanua “on more than 40 occasions, with the closest distance being 176 meters from its side.”
The PCG said the 97-meter BRP Teresa Magbanua observed four Chinese maritime militia (CMM) vessels in the area. “Nevertheless, the PCG vessel professionally engaged both the CCG and CMM vessels through radio reiterating the clear and principled position of the Philippines in accordance with international law,” the PCG added. The area Situated 240 kilometers west of Luzon, Bajo de Masinloc has long been a fishing ground utilized by generations of Filipinos by generations of Filipinos.
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