Five navigational buoys marked by a Philippine flag have been installed in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) to assert the country’s sovereignty and guide mariners in the tricky waters, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) revealed Sunday, May 14.

(Courtesy of Commo. Jay Tarriela / Twitter)

The floating markers were placed off Patag (Flat) Island, Balagtas (Irving) Reef, Kota (Loaita) Island, Panata Island (Lankiam Cay), and Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef – all in the Kalayaan Island Group (Spratly Islands) – by the PCG’s Task Force Kaligtasan sa Karagatan (TF KsK) from May 10 to 12, according to Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the WPS.

“The installation of these buoys, adorned with the Philippine flag, signifies the country's sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This move highlights the Philippines' unwavering resolve to protect its maritime borders and resources and contribute to the safety of maritime trade,” Tarriela said in a tweet.

The PCG conducted a maritime domain awareness (MDA) flight on Saturday, May 13, to inspect the newly-installed buoys. There, authorities monitored "dozens" of suspected Chinese maritime militia vessels off Julian Felipe Reef and Iroquois Reef.

The installation was not an easy task as Chinese vessels also challenged the Philippine ships, said Vice Adm. Joseph Coyme, commander of the PCG Maritime Safety Services Command.

Manila and Beiing have overlapping territorial claims in the WPS.

(Courtesy of Commo. Jay Tarriela / Twitter)

“Sa duration ng buoy laying operations natin, dalawa pong barko ng Coast Guard at BFAR [Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources] ang ginamit po dito at may tatlong [vessels] to serve as escorts. Namonitor during operations na may bumubuntot sa kanila pero itong mga security escort ships natin ay talagang nilapitan, chinallenge at siniguradong hindi ito gambala sa ongoing buoy operations (During the duration of our buoy laying operations, we used two ships from the Coast Guard and BFAR and we have three escort vessels. We monitored during the operations that our vessels were being tailed but our security escort ships really challenged them and ensured our ongoing buoy operations would not be disturbed),” Coyme said in a radio interview with dzBB.

Further, China also challenged the MDA flight by the PCG through radio communication.

“Normal po ‘yong mga radio challenge at in-inform din namin sila na ito’y part ng maritime domain awareness flight natin (Those radio challenges are normal and we also informed them that we are doing a maritime domain awareness flight) and we are conducting normal law enforcement routine patrols along the area),” he added. 

The installation of the floating markers is just one of the PCG’s efforts to intensify their presence in the WPS even as China continues to challenge them in areas that the latter also claimed as their own.

Coyme said the PCG’s Task Force Kaligtasan sa Karagatan will study the installation of more navigational markers in other areas in the WPS.

“Kasama po sa plano namin ay pag-aralan maigi ‘yong mga claimed features po natin, mga fishing grounds and other areas na very valuable sa resources ng bansa natin within the EEZ (Included in our plan is to carefully study our claimed features, fishing grounds, and other areas that are very valuable to our country’s resources within the EEZ),” Coyme said.

In May 2022, the PCG had installed the first five 30-foot-long navigational buoys in four critical areas in the WPS: two on Pag-asa (Thitu) Island, and one each on Lawak (Nanshan) Island, Likas (West York) Island, and Parola Island (Northeast Cay).

With the completion of the installation of new markers on Spratly Islands, Coyme believes that this symbolizes the government’s resolve to protect the country’s maritime domain and all the mariners passing through it.

“It serves as navigation safety for boats and ships during day and night navigation. It also serves as markers as sovereign rights because these areas are within our EEZ. This will strengthen our presence (for the) administration and control over these areas,” he said.