OVER 40 Chinese vessels, earlier reported to be in the vicinity of Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) in the South China Sea, are still in the area as of yesterday, ignoring repeated radio messages from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) telling them to leave.
“Our Coast Guard station in Pag-asa continue to challenge them (Chinese vessels) through radio,” said Commodore Jay Tarriela, the PCG’s spokesman for the WPS, during the “Laging Handa” public briefing.
“(We’re) telling them that 12 nautical miles from Pag-asa Island is the territorial sea of the Philippines and we have sovereignty over it. But what China is doing is they are not responding to messages of our Coast Guard personnel,” added Tarriela.
Tarriela, also the PCG adviser for maritime security, said Chinese vessels — one each from the Navy and the Coast Guard, and 42 maritime militia vessels — are still within the 12-nautical mile territorial sea of the Philippines as of yesterday.
On Saturday, the PCG reported that a Chinese Navy vessel and a China Coast Guard vessel were seen some eight nautical miles and 4.5 nautical miles from Pag-asa Island, respectively.
The PCG said 14 Chinese maritime militia vessels were anchored at the vicinity of Pag-asa Cay 3 while 28 others were monitored at Pag-asa Cay 4.
Pag-asa Island serves as seat of government of Kalayaan town, Palawan. There are about 400 people in the island, including government troops and about 70 children, said Tarriela.
“At present, the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) Navy vessel, the China Coast Guard vessel and the Chinese maritime militia (vessels) that we reported last Saturday are still there,” said Tarriela.
Tarriela said the presence of the Chinese vessels near Pag-asa Island violates Philippine sovereignty and “is inconsistent with the right of innocent passage.”
“In other words, they’re not respecting our territorial integrity in the area,” said Tarriela.
In a phone interview, Tarriela said Chinese navy and coast guard vessels were loitering in the area while the maritime militia vessels were anchored but there are no indications they are fishing.
Asked if these vessels were monitoring government activities in Pag-asa Island, he said, “That can also be a possibility.”
Tarriela said the PCG has been telling the Chinese vessels to leave the area through radio challenges.
“We are driving them away through those (radio) challenges,” said Tarriela.
EXTERNAL DEFENSE
The Armed Forces’ Western Command (Wescom) said it is heeding the call of President Marcos Jr for a shift in military focus to external defense operations.
Last week, Marcos told the military that its mission has changed and it should focus its attention to external defense.
“This Command remains steadfast in fulfilling its solemn duty to defend Philippine sovereignty, territorial integrity, and protecting the rights of our country and our people with vigilance, dynamism, and determination in our operations in the WPS,” said Wescom spokesman Cdr. Ariel Joseph Coloma said.
Coloma said Wescom also welcomes the opportunity to work with ally countries in patrolling the country’s waters.
Officials earlier said there are talks about the Philippine military conducting joint patrols with US and Australia in the WPS.
“Wescom welcomes the opportunity to work with friends and allies in patrolling our waters, building on existing partnerships, forging new ones, strengthening military interoperability, and developing indigenous capabilities to respond to threats that may arise within our area of operations,” said Coloma.
Coloma said Wescom also supports PCG efforts to “publicize” cases of Chinese harassment and incursion in the WPS. He said the Chinese activities in the area challenge the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration that invalidated China’s excessive claims in the South China Sea.
“Bolstered by the Commander-in-Chief’s trust and confidence in the AFP’s
