MANILA, July 8 ------ Chinese ships “intercepted” two Philippine Coast Guard patrol boats near the Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, a private foreign monitor reported. Based on satellite images from South China Sea monitor Sealight, a China Coast Guard ship and six Chinese maritime militia vessels were seen sailing close to PCG’s BRP Cabra and BRP Cape Engano as they passed 14 nautical miles east of Ayungin Shoal, said former US Air Force officer Ray Powell.
The Chinese vessels included the 102-meter CCG 5203, he said. “They have been intercepted by China Coast Guard 5203 and at least six maritime militia vessels, now closely shadowing,” Powell, director of Sealight, said of the Philippine vessels. Powel said the PCG ships had initially transmitted their automatic identification signals (AIS) around midnight, 18 nautical miles south of Ayungin. China then dispatched seven more militia vessels “to bolster blockade” around Ayungin, while the CCG 5203 went south and first “interdicted” the two Philippine ships around 7 a.m., Powell said on X.
BRP Cabra and BRP Engano were later observed moving away from Ayungin to the southeast, towards Escoda Shoal around 3 p.m. CCG 5203 continued to shadow the Philippine vessels, while the other militia ships maintained their positions near the reef. Also called Second Thomas Shoal, Ayungin is among the hotspots in the West Philippine Sea where the Philippines grounded its warship BRP Sierra Madre to serve as the country’s naval outpost.
PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Jay Tarriela has yet to respond to media questions to discuss Sealight’s reports. But in a media briefing over the weekend, Tarriela said that China’s strategies can no longer be considered just gray zone tactics, or below military armed conflict. “Ang tawag na natin dito is illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive action of Chinese government,” Tarriela told reporters. “There’s no gray area now in the West Philippine Sea. It has been very obvious, ang ginagawa nila ay violation of the international law, coercion, deception and basically, harassment in deploying of their vessels illegally,” he added.
The PCG, through its transparency efforts, continues to document the movements of China, which will be readily available as evidence for the government’s legal actions, Tarriela said. “We have tremendous trust in our legal luminaries how they can make use of that. But again, what we can just provide are the actual evidence, as to how they’re going to make use of it, it’s up to them to decide,” he said.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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