The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) accused China of intentionally misleading the international community after a supposed China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel was tracked in San Felipe, Zambales even if it was actually in Hong Kong.
Concerned residents monitoring dredging activities in San Felipe reported to the PCG the detection of a supposed CCG ship with bow number “21543” in their coastal waters last Dec. 10, raising alarm that China has already crept up into their town.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for West Philippine Sea, said the incident was a “clear case” of automatic identification system (AIS) spoofing, which refers to the manipulation of a vessel's signals to deceive or confuse other vessels or authorities.
“It is clear that the Chinese Coast Guard is engaging in AIS spoofing to mislead the international community, confuse authorities, and instigate public concern,” Tarriela said on Friday, Dec. 13.
After receiving reports from concerned citizens, the Coast Guard Station (CGS) Zambales conducted a follow-up monitoring where it successfully located the vessel of concern to be near Hong Kong or Guangzhou, China.
“Analyzing the 60-day track of CCG-21543, it becomes evident that this vessel could not realistically navigate those routes. It is highly probable that they are exploiting the AIS signals of other vessels for their spoofing activities,” Tarriela said.
“In the Philippines, it seems likely that they are utilizing dredgers to facilitate this AIS manipulation,” he added.
PCG ship BRP Teresa Magbanua also detected in its monitoring the AIS of the said CCG ship but upon checking the subject vessel’s actual location, she did not find the Chinese ship.
Instead, what the BRP Teresa Magbanua found in the area was Chinese-owned dredgers used in the Manila Bay reclamation. The PCG did not find any violation upon inspecting one of the dredgers.
However, Tarriela insisted that the CCG’s AIS spoofing disregarded international law, particularly the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).
“It is particularly ironic that maritime safety, a fundamental responsibility of any coast guard organization, is compromised by China's disregard for the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), especially the mandatory AIS requirements outlined in Chapter V for certain vessels,” he said.