The final decision on deploying Navy vessels to “shadow” Philippine missions in the West Philippine Sea lies with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Saturday.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson on the WPS, said it is up to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to make a policy recommendation to Marcos “and the commander-in-chief, the President himself, has the full authority to decide on this.”
“As far as the Philippine Coast Guard [is concerned], we are going to support whatever decision that the Armed Forces of the Philippines and our Commander-in-Chief will carry out,” Tarriela said.
The National Maritime Council (NMC) on Wednesday said People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ships “participated in the blocking or aggressive movements of Chinese vessels” at Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.
Tarriela had previously said that a PLA Navy ship was seen shadowing a PCG vessel from 300 yards away at around 7:20 a.m. Wednesday as it made its way to BRP Datu Pagbuaya, which had been subjected to water cannon fire and sideswiping by the China Coast Guard (CCG).
A second PLA Navy vessel was not reported as conducting shadowing activity, Tarriela had said, as it kept a distance of 7 nautical miles away from the presence of a PCG vessel.
NMC spokesman Undersecretary Alexander Lopez on Wednesday said that despite China’s provocations, the Philippines would not follow Beijing’s actions.
“We might as well put our navy vessels far away but we’re trying to monitor their activities,” Lopez had said.
“Hindi natin puwedeng ilapit ‘yun kasi maggigirian lang. It will escalate the situation (We cannot deploy it because it might lead to the escalation of the situation),” he added, stressing that Marcos had made it clear that all disputes and conflict situations should be resolved diplomatically.
Reciprocity
At the Saturday News Forum, Tarriela clarified that, “I’m not recommending anything… all I’m saying is that in terms of reciprocity that can be a policy that can be carried out.”
Tarriela said the Philippine Navy and the AFP, though continuously monitoring the situation in the WPS, do not interfere with the harassment being done by CCG and Chinese maritime militia against the PCG, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and Filipino fishermen.
“That’s why I said that is the first time that a warship of the PLA Navy also interfered and participated in the harassment of a Philippine Coast Guard vessel,” Tarriela said.
“For the past three administrations, the Philippine Coast Guard has been chosen to be deployed in the West Philippine Sea… During the 2012 Scarborough standoff, we were a victim of Chinese propaganda that we were militarizing the dispute, so since then the Coast Guard vessels were developed, modernized and now we have a lot of vessels to support our presence in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.
“But why is China deploying PLA Navy warships? But, the Philippine Coast Guard, we can never replace the Philippine Navy with the issue of territorial defense and it is very alarming in a way that PLA Navy warships are encroaching on our own exclusive economic zone,” he added.
The Philippines filed Thursday another diplomatic protest against China’s latest aggressions in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) and Escoda Shoal (Sabina Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
On Wednesday, the PCG said the CCG launched water cannon attacks and rammed BFAR vessel BRP Datu Pagbuaya, which was on a maritime patrol in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila said Philippine vessels had attempted to intrude into Chinese territorial waters off Huangyan Dao, China’s name for Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal. It claimed that CCG forces had acted lawfully to control the situation.
Last weekend, the Chinese ships also conducted dangerous maneuvers against Philippine vessels in the vicinity of Escoda Shoal as BRP Cape Engaño and BRP Melchora Aquino were on their way to Rozul Reef to assist Filipino fishermen who were earlier harassed by the CCG.
The latest incidents came on the heels of Beijing’s submission of a statement to the United Nations on the baselines of its territorial sea, which included a chart showing Scarborough Shoal as part of its territorial waters. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
