Chinese ship, helicopter kept watch on Kalayaan protesters

A SHIP and a Chinese Coast Guard helicopter patrolled the area around Pagasa Island while 48 Filipino youths protesting China’s encroachment on Philippine territories in the West Philippine Sea were camped there.

The “Kalayaan Atin Ito” (Kalayaan This Is Ours) group claimed that they saw the Chinese vessels near the island during their week-long stay there, and that they recorded it using a cell phone.

“Every day, a Chinese Coast Guard patrol ship with bow number 46708 patrolled the shores of our island even inside the 12 nautical miles of our territorial waters. Almost every day, a Chinese Coast Guard helicopter patrolled too close to the shores of the island,” said the group in a statement.

The 48 youths led by Nicanor Faeldon, a former Marine captain, had camped out on Pagasa from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 to protest China’s encroachments.

The government was not in favor of the protest but the military monitored the group throughout their voyage to Pagasa from Palawan.

The group said that they would present a more detailed report supported by pictures, videos and illustrations once they are settled.

The youth volunteers said the patrols of the Chinese Coast Guard ship and helicopter “blatantly violates our sovereignty and clearly disregarded international laws.”

They said Filipino fishermen can no longer fish in Pagasa and its surrounding waters which have been lost from the Philippines as a fishing area.

The youth volunteers said their freedom voyage had revealed to them “facts that we should all be worried about.”

“We have lost to China the heart of the Kalayaan island group through their triangle militarized zone from Fiery Cross Reef to Subi Reef and Mischief Reef. Inside this triangle are the other military bases that China has built,” they said.

They said the Philippine Navy tried to tail them with a ship and helicopter through the triangle but only skirted the outside of the triangle.

Sought for comment, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said it has not yet received any report of the Chinese Coast Guard’s alleged patrols near Pagasa.

Western Command chief Vice Adm. Alexander Lopez, whose forces have been monitoring the youths to ensure their safety, said he was not surprised to learn of the Chinese Coast Guard’s alleged patrols.

“It’s not surprising since we have been seeing patrols being conducted by the Chinese Coast Guard and in some instances the Chinese Navy. That’s not unusual since we have been monitoring that ever since,” Lopez said.

AFP spokesperson Col. Restituto Padilla declined to comment on the supposed patrols, saying he has yet to see the videos taken by the youth group.

Meanwhile, Sen. Antonio Trillanes Monday said that China’s land reclamation and activities in the disputed Spratly group posed a “security threat” to the entire Southeast Asian region.

Trillanes said he supported the government’s plan to file a protest against China’s recent test of a newly completed runway on the Philippine-claimed Kagitingan Reef but that the Philippines has to take more measures than lodging a protest. With a report from Christine Avendaño

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