PCG: China disrupts law enforcement vs dynamite fishing

MANILA, Philippines — Chinese coast guard ships disrupted a Philippine law enforcement operation against suspected dynamite fishing near Pag-asa Island on Sunday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported.

Rear Adm. Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesman for West Philippine Sea (WPS) issues, yesterday said personnel of the Joint Task Unit Pag-Asa reported sighting alleged blast fishing by a foreign vessel near Sandy Cays 2 and 3, about three nautical miles west of Pag-asa.

Tarriela said the task force deployed boats in response, but China Coast Guard (CCG) ships with bow numbers 5102 and 21581 moved in their path, apparently as part of blocking maneuver at around 9:50 a.m.

“They sounded their horns and radio-challenged the Philippine team inside Philippine territorial waters,” he said.

Tarriela said the suspected blast fishing boats had already returned to their mother ship when the PCG came close at about 500 meters east-southeast of Sandy Cay 2.

“The team ordered the vessel to stop and radioed it several times. The vessel ignored these orders and sailed southwest toward Zamora Reef,” he said.

The PCG noted that CCG 21581 shadowed and blocked the Philippine boats as they followed the vessel, coming within about 10 yards of the PCG’s high-speed response boat.

“At 10:13 a.m., a People’s Liberation Army Navy helicopter (tail number 09) circled over the team four times,” he said.

For safety reasons, the PCG stopped pursuing the Chinese vessel after it reached 1.2 nautical miles east-southeast of Sandy Cay 5.

Tarriela said the law enforcement operation was carried out to stop destructive fishing practices and was not directed at any country.

“By obstructing Philippine authorities, the CCG did not protect the marine environment. It made it easier for a suspected violator to escape,” Tarriela added.

The deployment of a PLA Navy helicopter to obstruct a civilian law enforcement operation was an “unnecessary act of intimidation.”

Meanwhile, the AFP also reported that two Chinese military aircraft made dangerous maneuvers around a Philippine C-208 turboprop aircraft while the latter was on a routine maritime patrol over the WPS, particularly in the vicinity of Panatab Shoal last Saturday. — Mark Ernest Villeza, Emmanuel Tupas, Pia Lee-Brago