The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) managed to make its closest approach to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal during the latest rotation and resupply (RoRe) mission there last Nov. 10 since Chinese vessels began swarming the atoll to prevent the operation, an official revealed on Tuesday, Nov. 14.

Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for West Philippine Sea (WPS), said the PCG vessels that supported the resupply run of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Ayungin Shoal were able to come as close as 0.9 nautical miles from the submerged reef.

"We were able to come close at a distance of 0.9 nautical miles. Although this has never been done before, it is worth mentioning [that] the Philippine Coast Guard keeps on pushing," Tarriela said in a television interview.

According to Tarriela, since the PCG started reinforcing the indigenous boats rented by the AFP to bring the supply to soldiers manning BRP Sierra Madre, a Philippine Navy warship deliberately ran aground off Ayungin to serve as an outpost, its vessels could only come as far as five to 10 nautical miles as they were blocked by Chinese vessels. 

"This is the closest that we ever got," Tarriela said, referring to the latest resupply mission.

The PCG got so close to Ayungin Shoal that its vessels -- BRP Melchora Aquino, BRP Sindangan, and BRP Cabra -- were able to launch their rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) or aluminum boats in shallow water.

But what does this mean?

For Tarriela, this signifies the PCG's intention to push back against China's "bullying" and "intimidation" tactics.

"This is the reason why the Chinese in the past so many months have already been increasing their number of coast guard vessels and Chinese maritime militia because of our intention of getting close [to] Ayungin as we perform the resupply mission," he stated.

The latest resupply mission also saw the deployment of one of the PCG's largest ships in its fleet, the 97-meter multi-role response vessel BRP Melchora Aquino.

"The intention of our new Commandant, Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, is to make sure that our deployed vessels will be responsive to the requirement of the Armed Forces of the Philippines," Tarriela said.

"If there are other operational requirements that would demand the presence of a bigger vessel, our Commandant, Admiral Gavan, has expressed his commitment that we're going to deploy the 97-meter [vessels]," he added.

Meanwhile, several stakeholders suggested that the AFP and PCG should instead use bigger Philippine Navy boats during the resupply mission.

Maritime security expert Jay Batongbacal said the AFP should do away with the use of civilian boats and start using Navy ships that would not be easily intimidated by the Chinese vessels.

Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez suggested that the AFP should just use airdrop to bring the supplies to troops instead of using boats.

For Tarriela, he said he would leave it to the AFP leadership to use whatever means that it deems best to perform the resupply mission.

Nonetheless, he reiterated the PCG's commitment to support the AFP's resupply mission despite their limited assets.

"We are still pushing against China, countering their agressive behavior, and showing the international community that despite of their agressiveness, despite of their bullying tactics, we are still choosing not to escalate the tension and we're still going to push for our sovereign rights because Ayungin Shoal falls within our exclusive economic zone," Tarriela said.

Asked whether the PCG is prepared in case China further escalates its aggression in the WPS, Tarriela had this to say: "They already used water cannon, we already experienced military-grade laser, there was already collision, ramming incident. All of these were already thrown at us. What are the worse things that we can expect?" 

"Definitely, they would still be carrying out provocative and aggressive actions. But one thing is certain, the national government, the Armed  Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine Coast Guard will not be deterred and prevented from carrying out our mandated function in maintaining our presence in the West Philippine Sea."