Lacson lauds PCG manuever, mourns reported deaths in latest West PH Sea incident
At A Glance
- "While we are proud of a skillful maneuver by our PCG captain, we also mourn the senseless loss of lives of the CCG personnel," Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson said.
Senator Panfilo "Ping" M. Lacson on Tuesday, August 12 commended the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) for skillfully manuevering their ship when they evaded two Chinese vessels off Panatag Shoal on Monday morning.
Lacson also mourned the reported deaths of at least two crewmembers which was a result of a collision of a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel and a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ship.
The collision occurred while the CCG was chasing the BRP Suluan off Bajo de Masinloc.
"The WPS collision between a People’s Liberation Army Navy ship and a Chinese Coast Guard vessel, while chasing a PCG vessel on a mission to resupply our fishermen near Bajo de Masinloc reportedly killed 2 CCG crew members,” Lacson said on X.
“While we are proud of a skillful maneuver by our PCG captain, we also mourn the senseless loss of lives of the CCG personnel," he said.
https://x.com/iampinglacson/status/1955103987952390500
PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said the CCG attempted to use a water cannon on the BRP Suluan but the PCG's seamanship skills allowed the vessel to avoid getting hit.
The BRP Suluan and the BRP Teresa Magbanua were escorting the MV Pamamalakaya, which was in the area to assist 35 Filipino fishing vessels.
Also on X, Lyle Morris, a senior fellow for foreign policy and national security at the Asia Society Policy Institute Center for China Analysis, and who formerly served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) as the Country Director for China, said that "the two sailors manning the bow of CCG 3104 likely died in the collision."
"When the operational culture of a navy/coast guard is to habitually violate COLREGS (collision regulations) and norms of professionalism, this is the tragic result. The bow of China Coast Guard 3104 was completely destroyed colliding with PLA Navy Destroyer 164. The two sailors manning the bow of CCG 3104 likely died in the collision," Morris said.
Retired Col. Vinayak Bhat, a military intelligence veteran of the Indian Army, also posted on X, that four men on the forecastle of the stricken Chinese vessel "must have certainly died."