Buoys remain in WPS contrary to China media’s removal claim – PCG

‘BOOSTING OUR PRESENCE’ Members of Task Force Kaligtasan sa Karagatan of the Philippine Coast Guard inspect the waters of Pag-asa (Thitu) Island in the West Philippine Sea where two buoys, one of them shown in photo, were installed last year. —File photo from FRANCES MANGOSING

MANILA, Philippines — Contrary to a report that it was removed, buoys installed in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) are still there.

This is the report of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday.

PCG made the reaction, after a Chinese media report claimed Chinese fishermen had collected all the buoys deployed by the country with the protection of China Coast Guard vessels.

“The PCG’s 10 buoys, which were dropped in the West Philippines Sea, remain in their designated locations,” PCG spokesperson for West Philippine Sea affairs Commodore Jay Tarriela told reporters.

In 2022, five buoys were installed near Lawak (Nanshan), Likas (West York), Parola (Northeast Cay), and Pag-asa (Thitu) Island.

Also in May, 2023, five buoys were installed off the islands of Patag (Flat), Kota (Loaita), Panata (Lankiam Cay), and the fishing grounds of Balagtas (Irving) Reef and Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef.

In response, China also deployed a buoy vessel to the WPS a few days later.

China’s actions were anchored on its assertion that it owns almost all of the areas in the South China Sea, including WPS.

But Philippines, under the administration of then President Benigno Aquino III in 2013, challenged before the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Beijing’s claim that it owned more than 80 percent of the South China Sea.

The subject covered waters in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

In 2016, PCA invalidated China’s claim to almost the entire South China Sea.

The tribunal ruled China’s claim had no basis in international law.

It also declared China had violated the Philippines’ sovereign right to fish and explore resources in the West Philippine Sea, referring to the waters within the country’s 370-kilometer EEZ in the South China Sea.

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