It's all systems go for the second supply mission of civilian advocate group "Atin Ito" Coalition in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
The coalition held a send off ceremony and Holy Mass in Botolan, Zambales on Tuesday afternoon, May 14, unfazed by reports that China has deployed an armada of maritime forces to form a blockade and stop them from reaching their destination at Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough or Panatag Shoal).
"Here we go again in the West Philippine Sea. As we've been saying, we should normalize and regularize civilian access in the West Philippine Sea. If China is militarizing our own exclusive economic zone, we are there to civilianize our own seas," Atin Ito co-convenor Rafaela David said in a press conference.
"We are here to reclaim the West Philippine Sea because it is ours," added David, who is also the president of progressive group Akbayan Party.
The mission
According to David, there will be five main civilian boats that will lead the convoy en route to Bajo de Masinloc. They are fishing bancas "John", "Bing Bing", "Aguian", "Paty", and "Limvas".
They will be accompanied by 100 deep-sea fishing vessels from Masinloc.
The convoy will depart from Matalvis Port in Zambales around 6 a.m. on Wednesday, May 15, and is expected to reach their first destination on the same day where they will install floating markers bearing the words "WPS, Atin Ito!" (WPS, This is Ours!) to "remind China every time they pass by that area that it is ours."
They will also conduct the first round of distribution of supplies and fuel to fishermen in the first destination.
The convoy will then sail towards the second destination within the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc, which the coalition expects to reach on Thursday, May 16. The second round of distribution of supplies will take place there, and the group is expected to leave around 10 a.m. on same day.
At 5 a.m. on Friday, May 17, the convoy is expected to reach the third destination which is where designated payaos (fish aggregating devices) used by local fishermen in Masinloc are placed. The participants, including members of the media, will be shown how fishermen conduct their fishing activities. The group will depart the area at 7 a.m. back to Subic Port, where they are set to arrive around 7 p.m. on same day.
The exact location of the three destinations were not disclosed by Atin Ito Coalition to avoid jeopardizing the mission.
Navy, PCG support
The Philippine Navy (PN) and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will deploy vessels to monitor the civilian convoy and ensure the participants' safety.
"The Philippine Coast Guard is in close contact with them for safety of lives at sea issues. We are also in close contact with them," Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, PN spokesperson for WPS, said.
On X (formerly Twitter), maritime security analyst Ray Powell said Chinese maritime forces have positioned themselves to the east, northwest, and southwest of Bajo de Masinloc to form a blockade as of Tuesday morning.
Powell earlier said this has been the biggest blockade by China that he has ever tracked in Bajo de Masinloc, with the total force composed of at least four China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels and 26 maritime militia, and excluding possible presence of "dark vessels" or those that turn off their automatic identification system (AIS) to avoid detection.
For David, she said the objective of the civilian mission is not to antagonize China or get hit by water cannon but merely conduct a peace and solidarity regatta.
"We stand by our belief that the West Philippine Sea should be accessible to ordinary citizens, especially our fisherfolk communities whose livelihood depend on those seas," the Atin Ito co-convenor said.