Chinese ship runs aground off Pag-asa Island

June 9 ------ A CHINESE ship ran aground in stormy weather in shallow waters off a Philippine-occupied island in the disputed South China Sea, prompting Filipino forces to go on alert, Philippine military officials said.

When Filipino forces assessed that the Chinese fishing vessel appeared to have run aground in the shallows east of Pag-asa Island on Saturday because of bad weather, the military and coast guard personnel deployed to provide help but later saw that the ship had been extricated, said Capt. Ellaine Rose Collado, spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines' Western Command.

No other details were immediately available, including if there were injuries among the crewmembers or if the ship was damaged, Collado said. "We were prepared to respond under international maritime law, specifically the Safety of Life at Sea (Solas) convention. Any vessel in distress, regardless of nationality, is entitled to assistance," Collado said.

However, she noted conflicting reports from the scene. "Our personnel observed the vessel appearing to move under its own power. No visible towing was seen. But eyewitness accounts from civilians suggest external assistance was involved," she said. The ship's name and bow number were not disclosed, but authorities said it resembled vessels often seen near China-controlled reefs across the Spratlys.

The AFP had been conducting patrols in the area for over a week, with journalists on board the BRP Andres Bonifacio. Multiple radio challenges between Philippine and Chinese vessels had taken place earlier in the week, including one just before the grounding incident. Confrontations have spiked between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and navy ships in the disputed waters in recent years.

"The alertness of our troops is always there," Col. Xerxes Trinidad of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) told reporters. But when they saw that a probable accident had happened, "we tried to provide assistance as professionals" in accordance with international law on helping distressed vessels at sea. "We're always following international law," Trinidad said.

Filipino villagers living in a fishing village on Pag-asa, which the Chinese call Thitu island, immediately informed the Philippine military and coast guard after seeing the Chinese ship lying in the shallows about 1.5 nautical miles (2.7 kilometers) from their village, said Kalayaan town councilor Maurice Phillip Albayda. "They got worried because the Chinese were so close, but it was really the strong wind and waves that caused the ship to run aground," said Albayda, adding that other Chinese ships pulled the stricken vessel away. "This wasn't just an accident," Albayda said. "Locals saw the whole process — from grounding to retrieval. The other vessels were already nearby, as if waiting for orders. That's what worries us the most." He warned that the incident stirred fears reminiscent of the 1990s, when China used a similar grounding incident in Mischief Reef as a pretext to establish a permanent outpost that has since been transformed into a military installation.

The stricken ship resembled what the Philippine military had repeatedly said were suspected Chinese militia ships, which had backed the Chinese coast guard and navy in blocking and harassing Philippine coast guard and military vessels in the disputed waters, a busy conduit for global trade and commerce. Pag-asa is home to a Philippine fishing village and Filipino forces and is the largest of nine islands and islets occupied by the Philippines. It lies about 26 kilometers from Subi Reef, which China transformed into an island base along with six other barren reefs to reinforce its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are also involved in the long-simmering territorial standoffs, an Asian flashpoint that many fear could pit China and the United States in a major conflict. The United States does not lay any claim to the South China Sea but has repeatedly warned that it's obligated to defend the Philippines, its longtime treaty ally, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea. Security analysts have long warned that Beijing's use of civilian and paramilitary vessels allows it to conduct state-sponsored actions while denying formal military engagement.

"This kind of incident, especially if it turns out to be staged, could serve as a pretext for deeper entrenchment," a Western Pacific maritime expert told The Manila Times. "We've seen this playbook before." The incident added urgency to the outpouring of public support for Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., whose assertive stance against Chinese officials at the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore drew praise from civil society groups.

The Filipinos Do Not Yield Movement (FDNY-Movement), Alyansa ng Bantay Kapayapaan at Demokrasya (ABKD), and People's Alliance for Democracy and Reform (Pader) rallied behind Teodoro's firm response to what they called "provocative questions" from two high-ranking Chinese military officials at the forum. "Secretary Teodoro's responses reflected national dignity," said FDNY founder Dr. Jose Antonio Goitia. "His calm but resolute stance was an indirect rebuke rooted in international law."

Source: manilatimes.net