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PCG wants to arrest Chinese maritime militia operating in WPS but...

Philippines | National

PCG wants to arrest Chinese maritime militia operating in WPS but...

By Martin Sadongdong

PCG spokesperson for West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela (Photo by Mark Balmores / MANILA BULLETIN)

Can the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) arrest Chinese maritime militia "illegally" operating in the West Philippine Sea (WPS)?

Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for WPS, said they "want" to but it is not their priority right now.

One of the reasons the PG does not prioritize such law enforcement operation, he said, is because the militia vessels of China are much bigger compared to the PCG ships operating in the WPS.

"Is it possible for us to arrest those Chinese maritime militia that are bigger than the PCG vessel? As to the Coast Guard, we would want to but I don’t think that is something that we have to prioritize right now," Tarriela said.

The Chinese militia vessels have been actively participating in the blocking operations being conducted by the China Coast Guard (CCG) against the PCG-supported resupply missions of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, the PCG spokesman noted.

The latest resupply mission on Oct. 22 even led to the collision of a Philippine wooden supply boat, "Unaiza Mae 2", and a CCG vessel.

Meanwhile, PCG escort ship BRP Cabra was bumped from behind by a Chinese maritime militia vessel, which caused a hole on the left rear portion of the ship.

"This kind of collision of course is very dangerous because it affects the sea worthiness of the PCG vessel," Tarriela said.

For now, the PCG is focused on acquiring bigger and more advance ships that could sustain the maritime domain awareness (MDA) operations in the WPS.

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