Philippine Coast Guard accuses PRC of dangerous maneuvers
Agence France-Presse
The Philippine Coast Guard accused Chinese vessels of dangerous maneuvers in early February 2024 near a reef off the Philippine coast.
The Philippine vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua was patrolling around Scarborough Shoal, delivering provisions to fishing crews and ensuring their safety. The shoal, a rich South China Sea fishing ground, is within the Philippines’ internationally recognized exclusive economic zone. It has been a flashpoint between the countries since the People’s Republic of China (PRC) seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Since then, Beijing has deployed patrol boats that Manila says harass Philippine vessels and prevent Filipino fishermen from reaching the lagoon where fish are more plentiful.
VIDEO CREDIT: PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD VIA REUTERS
During the February patrol, the Chinese coast guard conducted “dangerous and blocking” moves against the BRP Teresa Magbanua four times, with Chinese vessels twice crossing the ship’s bow, the Philippine Coast Guard said. The Philippine ship also was shadowed by four Chinese coast guard vessels “on more than 40 occasions.” The Philippine Coast Guard also reported Chinese maritime militia vessels in the area. The militia consists of civilians armed by the PRC to serve as an auxiliary military force while purportedly retaining their regular jobs.
Videos released by the Philippine Coast Guard show a Chinese coast guard vessel just meters from the BRP Teresa Magbanua’s port beam before crossing its path.
Scarborough Shoal is 240 kilometers west of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometers from Hainan, the nearest Chinese province.
The incidents came two months after similar standoffs near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, where Chinese vessels rammed and fired water cannons at Philippine boats.
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea and has ignored a 2016 international tribunal ruling that its assertions have no legal basis. It deploys vessels to patrol the vital waterway and has built and militarized artificial maritime features in an attempt to reinforce its claims.
Philippine and PRC officials agreed in January 2024 on the need for closer dialogue to deal with “maritime emergencies” in the waterway as tensions escalated.
