The crew of the BRP Bagacay (MRRV-4410) was honored with the Coast Guard Merit Medal and Ribbon in recognition of their bravery during the water cannon attack by the CCG near Bajo de Masinloc. PCG PHOTO
China on Friday said the Philippines violated the so-called “temporary special arrangements” on Scarborough Shoal or Panatag Shoal made in 2016 under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
According to the statement by the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Manila, the “temporary special arrangements made by Chinese side in 2016 stated that Filipino fishermen can fish with small boats in designated waters except the lagoon of Huangyan Dao (Panatag Shoal), while Philippine government vessels and aircraft should remain from entering the 12 nautical miles and corresponding air space of Huangyan Dao.”
RECOGNITION Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson, Rear Admiral Armando Balilo leads the awarding ceremony at Port Area, Manila on Thursday (May 2, 2024). Captain Jane Gesulgon and his 38 crew members were awarded the Coast Guard Merit Medal and Ribbon in recognition of their bravery during a water cannon attack from two Chinese Coast Guard that damaged their ship on Tuesday. PCG PHOTO
“The incident on April 30th has nothing to do with the Filipino fishermen and their fishing activities in the Huangyan Dao area. Since the temporary special arrangements were agreed upon by China and the Philippines in 2016, fishing by Filipino fishermen in designated areas off Huangyan Dao was not an issue. Now the incumbent Philippine administration, out of its political agenda, hustles the fishfolks to the frontline of maritime disputes in the name of humanitarian assistance,” the statement read.
China has maintained that Panatag Shoal belongs to its territory and will take any necessary measures to defend its sovereignty.
“Huangyan Dao has always been China’s territory. China has indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Dao and its adjacent waters. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources) vessels entered waters off Huangyan Dao on the 30th of April without Chinese permission, which seriously infringed on China’s sovereignty,” the statement said.
“China Coast Guard (CCG) took necessary measures to expel them in accordance with the law. The operations on the ground were professional, rational, reasonable and legitimate. The Chinese side has lodged solemn representations both in Beijing and in Manila to the Philippine side demanding the Philippines to stop its provocation and infringement immediately,” it added.
On Tuesday, BRP Bagacay and BRP Bankaw encountered at least 10 Chinese vessels -- four CCG vessels and six Chinese maritime militia vessels -- during a routine mission to distribute food and other supplies to Filipino fisherfolk in the area.
The Chinese ships again performed dangerous maneuvering, blocking and water cannon attacks near Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
‘Beyond normal’ actions
The PCG on Friday insisted that all Chinese actions in the WPS are outright violations of international law.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the WPS, said maritime security scholars used to call China’s moves as grey zone tactics, or efforts to take control using coercive actions that are shy of armed conflict, but beyond normal diplomatic, economic and other activities.
"Ang contribution ng ating (The contributions of our) transparency strategy exposed Chinese illegal actions,” he said on the sidelines of the National Security Cluster Communications of the "Bagong Pilipinas" (New Philippines) media engagement and workshop at Philippine Merchant Marine Academy. "Because of our transparency strategy, the Philippine government is no longer considering this as grey zone strategy. We call this an outright violation of international law."
Tarriela said for so many years, China has bullied not just the Filipinos but even Vietnamese, Indonesian and Malaysian fishers in the South China Sea and tries to reclaim islands.
"For us, all of their actions that they are doing there are just basically unlawful actions and they are offenders of the international law."
When asked whether China Coast Guard ships deliberately trained their water cannons on the Philippine flag flying atop the mast of a PCG vessel, Tarriela said that based on their observation, it seems that the Chinese were “targeting the communications equipment of the Filipino craft.”
"We can probably say that (it) could be possible but the objective of the water cannoning nung nakaraang insidente noong (of the water cannoning incident on) April 30 is for them to terminate the mobility of the Coast Guard vessel and BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources). And of course, we are relatively dependent sa ating (on our) communication equipment and navigation equipment," Tarriela said.
“The Philippine vessels encountered dangerous maneuvers and obstruction from four China Coast Guard vessels and six Chinese Maritime Militia vessels,” Tarriela said in a statement, referring to the harassment of a “legitimate patrol” near Scarborough Shoal, which is inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
The PCG ship sustained “damage to the railing and canopy” but no injuries were reported.
Diplomatic protest
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Undersecretary Teresita Daza said the PCG must file an official report as basis for the next action, whether it would be a diplomatic protest or a summon.
"I’ll just lay the process in DFA. When an incident happens in the waters, we have to have an official report coming from PCG and from other agencies, and also from the National Task Force," she said in the same forum.
"So, we have to rely (on) official result(s), so I’ll have to check whether that (has) already been submitted, and what the report is actually all about."
Honored for bravery
Meanwhile, the crew of the BRP Bagacay (MRRV-4410) was honored with the Coast Guard Merit Medal and Ribbon in recognition of their bravery during the water cannon attack by the CCG near Bajo de Masinloc.
The PCG said the 38 ship crew members and their leader, Captain Jane Gesulgon, received the recognition from PCG officer in charge, Vice Admiral Rolando Lizon Punzalan Jr. in a ceremony in Port Area, Manila on Thursday.
Gesulgon and his crew members were praised for accomplishing their mission while ensuring everyone’s safety amid a water cannon attack from two CCG vessels that damaged their ship during the incident.
PCG Civil Relations Service Commander, Rear Admiral Armando Balilo and District National Capital Region-Central Luzon Commander, Commodore Arnaldo Lim, were also present during the ceremony. PNA
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