Coast Guard bares new tack vs Chinese harassment in WPS

FILE PHOTO: Philippine Coast Guard patrols Sabina Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on April 27, 2021. Photo from PCG

MANILA, Philippines — While diplomatic protests filed by the country seem not enough to flinch China, exposing the Asian superpower’s bullying behavior consistently is an effective way to counter its intensifying aggression in the South China Sea, especially in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) adviser of the Commandant for maritime security and its spokesperson for WPS, said publicizing China’s numerous aggressions in the WPS is what sets the PCG’s tactic in the current administration of President Marcos.

“The difference with the circumstances in the WPS in the past years with what’s happening in the past weeks right after the visit of President Marcos in China [in January] is that all of the incidents happening right now, we are making them publicly available,” he told a news forum in Quezon City on Saturday.

“That’s why there is awareness among the Filipino people, among the media practitioners, and the international community is also aware of what the Chinese have been doing in the past weeks,” he added.

On Feb. 6, the PCG accused a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ship of beaming a military-grade laser on one of its vessels, BRP Malapascua, near Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, 105 nautical miles west of Palawan.

Diplomatic protest

The PCG publicly shared photos and videos of the incident, which eventually prompted Manila to lodge a diplomatic protest against Beijing.

According to Tarriela, China would usually stay silent against the diplomatic protests filed by the Philippines. “But every time we make things publicly, then the Chinese government or the embassy will go out and explain or even justify [their actions],” he said.

On Wednesday, the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) reported that at least 30 Chinese maritime militia vessels and a CCG ship were found anchored off Sabina Shoals (123 nautical miles from Palawan) and Ayungin when the PCG conducted a maritime domain awareness flight on Feb. 21.

The NTF-WPS said the PCG received radio challenges in English and in Chinese from CCG ship with bow number 5304, which prompted the PCG to issue a radio challenge informing them that it is was conducting a maritime domain awareness flight and directed the Chinese to leave.

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