As the country commemorated the ninth anniversary of its landmark victory over China in the South China Sea arbitration case, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) issued radio challenges to two Chinese warships and a coast guard vessel that operated off the coast of Cabra, Occidental Mindoro on Saturday, July 12. 

The PCG deployed BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) to monitor the movements of People’s Liberation Army – Navy (PLA-N) warships with tail numbers “793” and “164”, and a China Coast Guard (CCG) ship with bow number “4203”.

The Chinese vessels were spotted operating at 69.31 nautical miles off the coast of Cabra. One of the warships even conducted a helicopter landing exercise.

Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for West Philippine Sea, said BRP Teresa Magbanua shadowed the Chinese vessels and tried to establish radio communication.

However, the warships were not responding. Only the CCG 4203 was coordinating with the PCG and they were “asserting China’s sovereignty and jurisdiction over [Mindoro’s] waters,” Tarriela said.

“The movements of these vessels have necessitated several radio challenges from the PCG throughout the day, without response from the PLA Navy warships,” he said.

“Additionally, it has been observed that PLA Navy warship 164 is conducting helicopter landing exercises on its flight deck, with continuous activity recorded throughout the morning,” he added.

China claims parts of the WPS based on its so-called 10-dash line, a set of “U”-shaped imaginary lines that outline its controversial maritime boundary in the South China Sea.

Its claims, however, were invalidated by an arbitral ruling issued by a tribunal court formed under the auspices of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, Netherlands on July 12, 2016.