By Junex Doronio
MANILA — Undaunted by the continuing harassment by China, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Saturday (24 Feb 2024) revealed the increasing number of Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and so far recorded 4 Chinese Coast Guard vessels, 3 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy vessels, 7 Maritime militia vessels, and one Chinese fishing vessel.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) also recorded 3 dangerous maneuvers by the Chinese Coast Guard, Chinese maritime militia, and, for the first time, a Chinese fishing vessel participated in blocking the BFAR vessel.
“We can fairly say na merong significant number of increase, pero I think probably the other reason is dahil sa presence na natin ngayon as what the president directed the Philippine Coast guard and BFAR to have a rotational deployment in Bajo de Masinloc, so probably this is the reason why there’s an increasing number of Chinese Maritime militia,” PCG spokesperson for the WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela said.
It was gathered that from the entrance of Bajo de Masinloc, BFAR personnel spotted the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), a Chinese warship, around 11 in the evening of February 21, marking what the BFAR said was the early shadowing.
“This is the first time that the Philippine government monitored the presence of a Chinese fishing vessel, not a Chinese maritime militia. This is the first time a Chinese fishing vessel participated in the blocking and shadowing operation to prevent the BFAR vessel from moving forward or getting closer to Bajo de Masinloc,” Tarriela said.
He added that the presence of Chinese fishing vessels could indicate additional troops deployed by China at Bajo de Masinloc.
(el Amigo/MNM)
