The national government completed an inter-agency maritime operation at Pag-asa Cay 1, Cay 2, Cay 3, and its surrounding waters on Sunday, April 27, to debunk the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) declaration of sovereign jurisdiction over Sandy Cay in the South China Sea.

The maritime operation was jointly conducted by the Philippine Navy (PN), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and Philippine National Police-Maritime Group (PNP-MG), according to the National Task Force for West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS).

The operation, which lasted for three hours and ended at 7:13 a.m., sought to reinforce the authorities’ routine and lawful exercise of maritime domain awareness and jurisdiction over the WPS, and to verify the claims of Chinese media outlets that the China Coast Guard (CCG) has occupied Sandy Cay, the task force stressed.

Accordingly, four composite teams aboard rubber boats were deployed to the cays, which are disputed low banks or reefs of coral, rock, and sand located in the Spratly Islands near Pag-asa (Thitu) Island in the WPS.

Teams One and Two reached Pag-asa Cay 1, Team Three arrived at Cay 2, while Team Four landed at Cay-3.

“There is no truth whatsoever to the claim of the Chinese Coast Guard that the Pag-asa Cays [have] been seized. The facts on the ground do not support this statement coming from the Chinese Coast Guard,” NTF-WPS spokesperson and National Security Council Asst. Director General Jonathan Malaya said in a press conference in Manila on Monday, April 28.

“Therefore, we urge the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Coast Guard to act with restraint and not increase tensions in the West Philippine Sea. We remind them of their commitment in the 2002 Declaration of Conduct (DoC) wherein it was agreed by those nations that signed the DoC that there will be no occupation moving forward of unoccupied features,” he noted.

The NTF-WPS also reminded the PRC and CCG that it was agreed upon by both countries to maintain the status quo in the WPS consistent with the 2002 DoC.

“We also ask them to stop all provocative activities in the West Philippine Sea, to uphold international law, and to help reduce tensions in the West Philippine Sea at this time. It is not to the benefit of any nation if these things are happening nor is it to the benefit of any nation if such irresponsible announcements and statements are released to the public and to the world,” Malaya said.

CCG personnel displayed a Chinese flag on Sandy Cay in the South China Sea and declared “sovereign jurisdiction” over it in mid-April, according to a report by the Chinese tabloid Global Times.

Eye for an eye

PCG spokesperson for WPS Commo. Jay Tarriela said the four composite teams of the coast guard, navy, and maritime group also brought with them Philippine flags to counter the Chinese narrative of seizing Sandy Cay.

“The other objective of our operation is to check whether the Chinese government installed different infrastructure or monitoring devices or whatsoever at all these Pag-asa Cays,” he explained.

Tarriela said the composite Philippine teams observed the “illegal presence” of a CCG vessel with tail number “5102” approximately 1,000 yards east of Cay-2, and seven Chinese maritime militia vessels near Cay 2 and Cay 3.

The CCG ship launched a rigid hull inflatable boat “but they never landed on Pag-asa Cay 2.”

“From a certain distance, they were just taking photos and videos of the activities of the members of the Team 2 while we were inspecting the immediate surrounding of Cay 2,” Tarriela shared.

“We can totally debunk the lie and disinformation of the People’s Republic of China,” he added.

Battleground

According to Malaya, what the PRC did was part of its strategy to dominate the information space, which, he said, has already become a “battleground”.

He said the false claim of China that it occupied Sandy Cay, which is approximately three kilometers from Pag-asa Island, the largest Philippine-occupied territory in the Spratly Islands, “is an alarming news to the public.” Pag-asa Island is inhabited by around 300 Filipino civilians and a military unit is deployed there to ensure their security.

“We’re here to debunk that and to assure the public that we have not lost the Pag-asa Cays,” Malaya said. “There is no occupation of the Pag-asa Cays yesterday, and we continue to monitor until today, there is no seizure or illegal occupation of those cays.”

Meanwhile, Navy spokesperson for WPS Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad said the propaganda made by the PRC could be considered as their way of “trying to shape the narrative” as part of malign influence operations in the information domain.

"Rather than come up with fake news to shape the public discourse, they (PRC) should address the facts being presented," he said.

The navy official said any attempt by China to build an artificial island over Sandy Cay, like what it did to Subi Reef, Mischief Reef, and Fiery Cross Reef in the past decades, will be considered a "red line" by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), prompting an appropriate response.

"Red lines are non-negotiables of the government," Trinidad said. "Sandy Cay is just a small feature, it's just sand. It cannot even sustain life. But on that cay will rest our sovereignty, on that cay will rest the effort of every Filipino. We will fight for it because it is ours. Sandy Cay is important to us just as any other feature in the West Philippine Sea. It's part and parcel of Philippine territory."

Read: China declares ‘sovereign jurisdiction’ over Sandy Cay – report