The Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) radio challenges to 44 Chinese vessels swarming Pagasa Island in the Kalayaan Island Group, West Philippine Sea (WPS) are falling on deaf ears.

Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG adviser of the Commandant for maritime security and PCG spokesman for West Philippine Sea, said People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy vessel “UBN,” China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel with bow number 5203, and 42 suspected Chinese maritime militia (CMM) vessels were still loitering approximately 4.5 to eight nautical (NM) miles from Pagasa Island.

“Ang Coast Guard Station natin sa Pagasa ay patuloy na china-challenge ito over the radio at sinasabing ang 12 nautical miles ng Pagasa Island ay territorial sea ng Pilipinas at tayo ay may sovereignty dito (Our Coast Guard Station in Pagasa continues to challenge them over the radio, saying that the 12 nautical mile area from Pagasa Island is part of the territorial sea of the Philippines and we have sovereignty here),” Tarriela said in a public briefing on Tuesday, March 7.

“Ganoon pa rin po ang ginagawa ng China, sila naman ay ‘di nagreresponde sa tawag ng ating Coast Guard personnel (The Chinese [vessels] continue to remain there, they do not respond to the challenges of our Coast Guard personnel),” he added.

For Tarriela, the intrusion of Chinese vessels in the Philippines’ waters only shows that China does not respect the latter’s sovereignty in the WPS.

“Vina-violate nila ang ating sovereignty. Ito po ay inconsistent sa right of innocent passage (They violate our sovereignty. This is inconsistent with the right of innocent passage),” the official said. A vessel’s passage to another nation’s territorial waters is considered innocent if it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal state. 

“Sa madaling sabi, hindi po nila ginagalang ang ating territorial integrity sa karagatang ito (In other words, they do not respect our territorial integrity in these waters),” he added.

Last March 4, the PCG said it has spotted 44 Chinese vessels near Pagasa Island, the largest island in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) which serves as the seat of the local government of Kalayaan town in Palawan.

The PLA Navy vessel and CCG 5201 have been observed to be slowly loitering within the surrounding waters of Pagasa Island with a distance of eight nautical miles and four nautical miles, respectively.

Fourteen suspected CMM vessels were anchored within the vicinity of Pag-asa Cay 3 with an estimated distance of four NM west of Pagasa Island, while the other 28 suspected CMM vessels are monitored to be within the area of Pagasa Cay 4.

Pagasa Island is home to more than 400 Filipinos, including some 70 children, along with stationed military, law enforcement, and civilian government personnel. It is located about 480 km west of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan and is equipped with an airstrip and a beaching ramp.