A China Coast Guard (CCG) ship was spotted sailing dangerously close to a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel in Bajo de Masinloc, Zambales earlier this month, authorities reported.
Admiral Artemio Abu, PCG commandant, said multi-role response vessel BRP Malabrigo (MRRV-4402) was conducting a maritime patrol operation in Bajo de Masinloc last March 2 when a CCG vessel with bow number 3305 suddenly approached and stayed approximately 21 yards from it.
The incident, called as close distance maneuvering, “constrained the maneuvering space” of BRP Malabrigo which is a “clear” violation of the 1972 International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS), according to Abu.
Based on the PCG’s record, there were at least three other incidents of close distancing maneuvering involving the CCG and PCG vessels in the territorial waters of the Philippines since 2021.
“The behavior of the involved CCG vessels increased the risk of collision with four of our capital ships. Hence, we immediately coordinated with the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to address this issue through rules-based and peaceful approaches,” the PCG commandant emphasized.
It was not clear though if the DFA has already filed a diplomatic protest against China due to the recent incident.
In comparison, the PCG said that BRP Malabrigo is 45.5 meters long and weighs 321 tons. It has a 25-member crew which is composed of five officers and 20 non-officers.
Meanwhile, the CCG vessel could be the Haijing 3305, a Shucha II-class patrol cutter of the China People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). It is about 111 meters long and weighs around 3,450 tons.
The Haijing 3305 had previously been sighted while patrolling Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal or Panatag Shoal. The shoal is located 124 nautical miles west of Zambales and is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
According to the PCG, they have monitored three other incidents where CCG vessels had a close distance maneuvering with PCG vessels in Bajo de Masinloc.
On May 19, 2021, MCS-3005, a PCG-manned monitoring, control, and surveillance patrol vessel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), reported the first incident of close distance maneuvering involving a CCG vessel with bow number 3301.
The second and third incidents involved two CCG vessels with bow numbers 3301 and 3103 that conducted close distance maneuvering with BRP Capones (MRRV-4404) and BRP Sindangan (MRRV-4407) during a maritime capability enhancement exercises on June 1 and 2, 2021.
Abu maintained that the PCG will continue patrolling Bajo de Masinloc to uphold its sovereignty on the area in adherence to the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) instruction to promote the safety of life and property at sea by enforcing all applicable laws within the Philippine waters in support of national development.
“We are fully aware of dangerous situations at sea, but these will not stop our deployment of assets and personnel in Bajo de Masinloc, Philippine Rise, and other parts of the country’s exclusive economic zones," Abu said.
"We will continue to work silently and diligently for we are serving Filipino fishermen at sea. As long as they feel safe seeing us during their fishing operations, we know that we are doing our job well,” he added.