TWO vessels from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and another two from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) have been deployed to secure a government underwater survey in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea.
PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela, in a press briefing yesterday, said the vessels were deployed to address possible “trouble” that might be caused by Chinese vessels.
The survey is being conducted at four cays near Pag-asa Island, the largest among nine features occupied by Filipino troops in the West Philippine Sea.
Pag-asa Island, about 180 nautical miles northwest from Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, serves as the seat of government of Kalayaan town, Palawan. It is about 14 nautical miles from the Chinese-occupied Subi Reef.
The survey, which started yesterday, is being conducted jointly by BFAR, Department of Agriculture’s National Fisheries Research Development Institute and the UP Institute of Biology.
The research at Sandy Cays 1, 2, 3 and 4 is meant to check the status of biodiversity in these areas. In September last year, crushed corals were seen at one of the cays that Chinese vessels have frequented.
“That’s why we deployed two Coast Guard vessels, anticipating that the Chinese will always give us trouble in doing this kind of maritime scientific research,” Tarriela said.
As of last Tuesday, the Armed Forces said, there was one Chinese Navy ship, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel, and six Chinese fishing vessels near Pag-asa Island.
“Whether they are there or they are not there, we still have the sovereign rights to do this kind of scientific research within the waters of Pag-asa Island,” said Tarriela.
Tarriela said the survey was authorized by the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, headed by National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, and is being conducted in line with President Marcos Jr’s food security objective.
“The Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources were tapped by the national task force to ensure that our food security is not compromised in the entire West Philippine Sea,” said Tarriela.
“For us to have a better appreciation and right evaluation of the aquatic resources that we have, we have to rely on science to do that. That is why we are doing this now,” he added.
China has been aggressive in its claims in the West Philippine Sea over the past year. It has harassed Philippine resupply missions at the Philippine-occupied Ayungin Shoal in the past months.
Senior Filipino diplomats are meeting with their Japanese and US counterparts in Tokyo to prepare for the first-ever trilateral leaders’ summit to be held in the White House in Washington D.C. on April 11.
A foreign affairs official who requested anonymity said the Philippine team is headed by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro.
Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano and Deputy State Secretary Kurt Campbell are representing the Japanese and US sides in the talks.
Campbell has been referred to as the chief architect of the Biden administration’s Asia strategy when he was serving as National Security Council coordinator for the Indo-Pacific region prior to his appointment as deputy secretary of state last month. — With Ashzel Hachero