THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) yesterday belied reports that its Chinese counterpart drove away a vessel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) that sent to patrol the contested Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc (BDM) and Panatag Shoal.
“This statement is inaccurate,” PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea spokesman Jay Tarriela, disputing a report made by Global Times, a Chinese tabloid.
The paper reported yesterday that the Chinese Coast Guard “repelled” the BFAR vessel “when the vessel illegally intruded into waters adjacent to China’s Huangyan Dao in the South China Sea.”
China calls the Scarborough Shoal as Huangyan Dao, about 124 nautical miles from Masinloc, Zambales.
Scarborough is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. China gained control of the shoal following a standoff with Philippine government ships in 2012. Since then, the Chinese have prevented Filipino fishermen from fishing inside the shoal’s lagoon
Tarriela, on his X (former Twitter) account, said the BFAR vessel, BRP Datu Sanday, “continues to patrol the waters of Bajo de Masinloc” and “actively ensuring the security of Filipino fishermen in that area.”
Tarriela said members of the media have been embedded on board BRP Datu Sanday “and their forthcoming reports upon completion of the mission will confirm the accuracy of our statement.”
Last week, the National Security Council announced that the government has directed the PCG and the BFAR “to deploy their vessels for rotational deployment in BDM starting this month.”
