Abandoned Chinese vessels from Spratlys arrive in Puerto Princesa

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines—Sixteen of the 24 fishing boats abandoned by Chinese fishermen after encountering a Philippine Navy patrol ship in the disputed Spratlys Islands were brought by the Philippine Navy to mainland Palawan Thursday.

The rest of the boats were lost at sea due to bad weather on the way to the naval facility in Ulugan Bay fronting the West Philippine Sea, the Armed Forces’ Western Command announced on Friday.

Commodore Joseph Rostum Peña, Naval Forces West (Navforwest) commanding officer, said the Chinese fishing boats were towed to the Navy’s facility in Ulugan Bay by BRP Rizal Thursday after the boats figured in an accident involving a large Chinese fishing fleet near the Philippine-held Recto Bank on October 18.

The Philippine government had already apologized to Beijing, claiming that BRP Rizal (PS-74) had lost control of the ship and accidentally rammed through the fishing fleet.

No one was reportedly injured but the Chinese mother ship fled the area after cutting off the lines to the smaller boats it was towing.

Peña said BRP Rizal was on a routine patrol mission on Tuesday when it spotted the fishing party it had suspected to be Chinese.

The fishing group included a mother ship and some 35 smaller motorized dinghies, located some 25 nautical miles south of Marie Louise Bank in the West Philippine Sea.

Peña said there was a problem in the steering controls of the Navy boat and it accidentally rammed through the last of the unmanned boats being towed by the mother ship.

“Despite evasive maneuvers to prevent the collision, PS-74 still accidentally hit the last dinghy. At that moment, the crew of the fishing vessel cut off their towing line, leaving behind 24 dinghies that got entangled with PS-74,” a Navforwest statement said.

The fishing boat subsequently fled the area at high speed in a northwesterly direction, added the statement.

While the Chinese were inside Philippine territory, Peña said they were not certain it was engaged in fishing when they chanced upon the fleet.

“Apparently they were just passing through. There was no indication that they were fishing in the area. We were just checking on them. We think they got scared after the incident and fled,” Peña said.

Meanwhile, wire reports said China has already demanded the return of the fishing vessels.