China radio challenge started as Scarborough convoy sails outside territorial sea

The side of the Scarborough Shoal is seen using a drone. Mother boats are anchored in the deeper part of the shoal, while small boats can go across the coral reefs to catch fish inside. On Wednesday, the Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal convoy received a radio challenge from China. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / REM ZAMORA

ABOARD FBCA BING BING — The radio challenge of China already began just several nautical miles away after this mother ship crossed outside the 12 nautical miles of the country’s territorial waters off Masinloc town in Zambales.

Agustin Bustillos, captain of this mothership which led the Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal convoy, revealed this to INQUIRER.net, adding that the radio challenge already began before the ship reached about 43 nautical miles away from Masinloc town on Wednesday afternoon.

Bustillos said he heard the radio challenge between the China Coast Guard (CCG) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) through the mother boat’s VHF radio, which he said occurred more than a dozen times.

“China (Coast Guard) told us to get out because they said the [West Philippine Sea belongs] to the People’s Republic of China, [while] our (PCG) said it’s our exclusive economic zone,” Bustillos told INQUIRER.net in Filipino, while he takes the helm of this boat to steer it back to Subic port.

Bustillos said the ship will return at about 2:00 to 3:00 a.m. on Friday.

The Atin Ito convoy started to return to Subic port after concluding its activities, such as placing symbolic markers in the West Philippine Sea and distributing fuel and food packs to Filipino fisherfolk.

But its activities were not without challenges, as three CCG vessels tailed this mother ship since Wednesday, one of which came as close as 100 meters. One of the CCG ships’ presence continued until noon on Thursday.

A People’s Liberation Army-Navy warship with bow number was also seen near this mother boat.

READ: Chinese ships block convoy’s mother boat from reaching Scarborough

“They swarmed at us, and came close; they came really close,” the captain said of Chinese ships.

China’s actions are in line with Beijing’s assertion of sovereignty in almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea, even if such a claim has been effectively invalidated by a July 2016 international tribunal ruling that stemmed from a case filed by Manila in 2013.

This landmark decision also included Scarborough Shoal, which was declared a traditional fishing ground that the Philippines, China, and Vietnam should share. However, China did not recognize this ruling.

“Parang gusto na nila sarilihin ang karagatan,” Bustillos said of China. (It seems that they want the sea all for themselves.)